Second attempt: SpaceX aims to launch 21 data satellites for the US military
After an automatic abort early in the week, SpaceX plans a new launch from California on Saturday. The satellites are meant to expand a data network in low Earth orbit.
Archive image · Photo: SpaceX / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped and resized)
SpaceX is making a new attempt to launch 21 satellites for the US military's Space Development Agency (SDA). According to the trade outlet Spaceflight Now, the Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off on Saturday at 07:39 UTC from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The first attempt on Monday was halted by an automatic abort 58 seconds before liftoff. SpaceX did not give a cause but said the rocket and payload were in good health. The launch was then pushed back several times by one day each.
The mission, designated T1TL-A, is the fourth production flight for the SDA's so-called Transport Layer. The 21 satellites were built by Northrop Grumman. Three earlier launches have already placed 63 satellites of this network in orbit. They exchange data with each other via low-latency optical laser links. The overall satellite architecture is intended to support missile tracking and secure communications.
In the long term, the Transport Layer is to comprise 300 to 500 satellites at altitudes of 750 to 1,200 kilometres. From 2027, the first build-out stage (Tranche 1) is expected to provide operational capabilities to the US Department of Defense. The Falcon 9 first stage is flying for the sixth time and is to touch down at Landing Zone 4 less than 7.5 minutes after launch. Whether the launch would go ahead as planned was not yet known at the time of writing.