Space News & Blog Articles

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches for a record-breaking 19th time, sending 23 Starlink satellites up to low Earth orbit. Image: Pete Carstens

Update 1:06 a.m. EST: Liftoff of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket confirmed. The booster, B1058, landed on the droneship several minutes after launch.

SpaceX sent off a Falcon 9 first-stage booster for a record-breaking 19th launch just after midnight as it continues the expansion of its Starlink satellite constellation. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral occurred at 12:33 a.m. EST (0533 UTC).

First-stage B1058 was already the fleet leader with 18 prior missions and cemented that position with the Starlink 6-32 mission, which will deliver 23 satellites to orbit. The booster first flew in May 2020 carrying astronauts for the first time on the Demo-2 Crew Dragon mission. It still features a faded NASA ‘worm’ logo from that mission.

The NASA ‘worm’ logo on B1058, seen during recovery operations following its fourth flight in December 2020. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now.

The liftoff time slipped just over an hour from the opening of the window at 11 p.m. EST (0400 UTC) as the rocket wasn’t hoisted upright at the launch pad until around 7:35 p.m. EST (0035 UTC). SpaceX had backup launch opportunities available until 3 a.m. EST (0800 UTC) Saturday morning.

The 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, said Thursday there was 60-70 percent chance of acceptable weather for launch with better conditions at the opening of the window. The primary concerns were violations of the thick cloud layer and cumulus cloud rules.

ULA’s fully integrated Vulcan rocket with the addition of the payload fairings added on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. On board is the main payload, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander. Image: ULA

United Launch Alliance achieved a critical milestone towards the debut of its next launch vehicle. On Wednesday, the company integrated the payload fairing on top of its Vulcan rocket, marking the first time it has put together the full stack.

The operation comes less than three weeks ahead of the target launch date for the rocket, Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. Liftoff for the Certification-1 (Cert-1) mission is set for 2:18 a.m. EST (0718 UTC) from Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Earlier this month, ULA was hoping to launch the rocket during a December window that ran from the 24th through the 26th. However, an incomplete wet dress rehearsal tanking test caused them to redo the test and therefore, pivot to the January launch window, which spans from Jan. 8-11.

Because of launch delays over at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the launch of Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander was pushed off into the February window. That means that Vulcan and its payload, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander, is now set to be the first spacecraft to launch as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

The Cert-1 mission will be a Vulcan VC2S variant vehicle. The “2” represents the two GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters onboard and the “S” represents a short payload fairing length. The short version of the fairings are 51 feet (15.5 meters) in height and 17.7 feet (5.4 meters) in diameter.

Vice President Kamala Harris delivers opening remarks at the first meeting of the National Space Council, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington. Chaired by Vice President Harris, the council’s role is to advise the President regarding national space policy and strategy, and ensuring the United States capitalizes on the opportunities presented by the country’s space activities. Image: NASA/Joel Kowsky

The furtherance of international space cooperation is expected to be at the heart of the third meeting of the National Space Council under the Biden-Harris Administration. Building on multilateral agreements, like the Artemis Accords, Harris will focus on what’s deemed the U.S. Novel Space Activities Authorization and Supervision Framework.

The proposal would permit both the Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) authority over novel space activities to, in the White House’s words, “facilitate innovation and further U.S. leadership in the safety, security and long-term sustainability of outer space activities.

A livestream of the NSC meeting will begin at approximately 2 p.m. EST (1900 UTC).

Among the highlights of the framework are a provision that updates the country’s orbital debris mitigation standard practices as well as the formation of the Private Sector Space Activities Interagency Steering Group, which the White House said will “formulate longer term policy and best practices to inform the work of regulatory agencies.”

There will also be discussions of both defense initiatives during the meeting, including bilateral agreements between the U.S. and both Japan and Norway respectively. They will also talk about the Space Force’s Regional Space Advisor program, one that is focused on encouraging shared values in space.

Firefly Aerospace is aiming to launch its fourth Alpha rocket to date before the end of 2023. The ‘Fly the Lightning’ mission will launch a satellite from Lockheed Martin using a satellite bus built by Terran Orbital. Image: Firefly Aerospace

A Blue Origin New Shepard rocket lifts off from the launch site in Van Horn, Texas, on the NS-24 mission. This was the first launch of a New Shepard rocket since the vehicle was grounded in the after math of the NS-23 anomaly. Image: Blue Origin

Updated 3:11 p.m. EST: Added comments and additional mission information from Blue Origin.

Blue Origin appears to be back in the suborbital business. Under a mostly sunny west Texas sky, the company launched its New Shepard suborbital rocket at roughly 10:42 a.m. CST (1642 UTC). This marked the 24th flight of a New Shepard rocket.

The launch was a big deal for Jeff Bezos’ company since it marked the first time in about 15 months that they were able to launch their vehicle. During the Sept. 12, 2022 launch of the NS-23 mission, the engine nozzle suffered a structural failure, forcing the mission to end prematurely.

The previously failed mission wasn’t mentioned at any point either during the launch broadcast or in Blue Origin’s social media posts about the NS-24 mission.

Onboard the capsule that flew on Tuesday were 33 science payloads and 38,000 postcards for Blue Origin’s non-profit, Club for the Future, which encourages young people to take up STEM careers.

A Falcon 9 lifts off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the Starlink 6-34 mission. Image: Spaceflight Now.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Monday night after high winds kept the rocket grounded last week. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 with 23 Starlink satellites occurred at 11:01 p.m. EST (0401 UTC).

Blustery weather scrubbed a launch attempt last Tuesday and high seas in the recovery zone forced further delays for this mission but on Monday the winds had died down and the Falcon 9 lifted off into a chilly Florida night sky.

After lifting off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, the Falcon 9 will head south-easterly targeting an orbit inclined 43 degrees to the Equator. Its nine Merlin 1D engines will fire for nearly two and a half minutes before the first stage separates from the second stage. The first-stage booster will continue downrange to land on the drone ship ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ in the Atlantic Ocean, east of the Bahamas.

The Falcon 9 booster for Monday’s Starlink 6-34 mission, tail number B1081, was making its third flight. It previously flew two missions for NASA carrying Dragon Endurance in August with a four-member crew for the International Space Station and a Cargo Dragon on a space station resupply mission 32 days ago in November.

The rocket’s payload fairing halves were to land on parachutes a little further downrange from the drone ship and be scooped up by the support ship ‘Bob’, named after Crew Dragon Demo-2 astronaut Bob Behnken.

Join us for a roundup of the week’s space news with reporters covering the big stories. Spaceflight Now’s Will Robinson-Smith is joined by Sandra Erwin of Space News and Stephen Clark on Ars Technica. Among the stories this week: Falcon Heavy and X-37B spaceplane launch delayed, the inaugural Spacepower Conference held in Orlando, Florida, highlights the challenge posed by China, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket gets closer to launch and United Launch Alliance says it has completed a countdown dress rehearsal and is targeting Jan. 8 for the first flight of its Vulcan launcher.

A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to support the Starlink 7-9 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The mission also includes the first six satellites that will be used for the company’s direct-to-cell service. Image: SpaceX

Update 1:13 a.m. EST: SpaceX delayed the launch until Friday night at 9:19 p.m. PST (12:19 a.m. EST, 0519 UTC).

SpaceX is looking to rebound from a week of scuttled launches with a Falcon 9 launch from California. The Starlink 7-9 mission will feature another batch of 21 satellites heading up to low Earth orbit, something that has become almost routine for the company.

However, this late night Friday mission is unique in that it will include the first six Starlink satellites that feature direct-to-cell capabilities. SpaceX stated that the new function “will enable mobile network operators around the world to provide seamless global access to texting, calling and browsing… on land, lakes or coastal waters.”

Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket supporting the mission is targeting the opening of the launch window at 9:19 p.m. PST (12:19 a.m. EST, 0519 UTC). Spaceflight Now will have live coverage of the mission starting about 30 minutes prior to liftoff.

This direct-to-cell promise for the Starlink network is the beginning of a promise announced by SpaceX founder Elon Musk during an event in August 2022 with T-Mobile CEO and President Mike Sievert at Starbase in Texas.

Update 12:05 a.m. EST: Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket successfully deployed the Tsukuyomi-1 satellite.

Rocket Lab launched its first flight of its Electron rocket since a failure on Sept. 19. The 42nd mission for the small-satellite launcher lifted off on Dec. 15 from New Zealand during at about 1705 NZDT (0405 UTC or 11:05 p.m. EST).

The Electron rocket launched the “The Moon God Awakens” mission from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Pad B, on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. This was a dedicated mission for Japan-based Earth imaging company iQPS (Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc.). The Tsukuyomi-1 synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite joins another iQPS satellite on orbit to capture high-resolution views of Earth as closely as a 1 meter-square view.

Eventually, it will be part of a 36-satellite constellation designed to monitor fixed points on Earth every 10 minutes. iQPS said it aims to have its full constellation deployed by 2025 or later.

“We are deeply grateful to the Rocket Lab team for their efforts in arranging the launch opportunity that aligns perfectly with our desired orbit,” said iQPS CEO Shunsuke Onishi in a statement. “Additionally, we take great pride in our team, working tirelessly day by day to accommodate this tight timeline.”

Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket on the launch pad ahead of the NS-23 mission. Credit: Blue Origin

After more than a year of being sidelined, Blue Origin is preparing for a resurgence of its New Shepard rocket suborbital flights.

In a social media post, the company stated that the launch window for its uncrewed return-to-flight mission dubbed NS-24 opens on Monday, Dec. 18.

Blue Origin said this mission will feature 33 science and research payloads in addition to 38,000 postcards that are part of the company’s youth outreach program, Club for the Future.

The company didn’t publish the manifest of individual payloads when it made the announcement, but they could include some of the 36 payloads that previously were onboard the NS-23 mission.

In a March 2023 statement, Blue Origin said that “the Crew Capsule and all payloads onboard landed safely and will be flown again.” It went on to state that its return to flight would be “a re-flight of the NS-23 payloads.”

A Falcon 9 stands ready for launch with 23 Starlink satellites on pad 40. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.

SpaceX scrubbed the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket after delaying a Falcon Heavy launch for the U.S. military. It had planned the launch Monday night, less than three hours after the scheduled launch of a Falcon Heavy from nearby pad 39A. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 with 23 Starlink satellites was tentatively rescheduled for 11:02 p.m. EST (0402 UTC) Tuesday.

If the doubleheader with the Falcon Heavy goes off om Tuesday it would be the shortest interval between orbital launches from Cape Canaveral since the Gemini program in the 1960s. With the Falcon Heavy scheduled for launch no earlier than at 8:14 p.m. EST on Tuesday, the Falcon 9 would follow two hours and 48 minutes later.

U.S. Space Force meteorologists at the 45th Weather Squadron said Sunday there was an 60-percent chance of acceptable weather for the Falcon 9 launch on Wednesday, with liftoff winds and thick clouds being the concerns.

Spaceflight Now’s live coverage of the launch will get underway about an hour before liftoff. You can also watch 24-7 views of launch pads at the Cape in our Launch Pad Live stream.

The Falcon 9 booster for Tuesday’s Starlink 6-34 mission, tail number B1081, is making its third flight. It previously flew two missions for NASA, one carrying Dragon Endurance in August with a four-member crew to the International Space Station and the other being a Cargo Dragon on a space station resupply mission 32 days ago in November.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket stands ready to launch the USSF-52 mission. The two side boosters are making their fifth flight while the center booster is launching on its first and only flight. Image: Michael Cain

The fifth and final Falcon Heavy mission of 2023 is preparing to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center carrying the X-37B, a secretive spaceplane operated by the U.S. military. The mission, code-named U.S. Space Force (USSF)-52, is set for liftoff during a ten-minute window on Monday, Dec. 10, that opens at 8:14 p.m. EST (0114 UTC).

The mission had been scheduled to liftoff Sunday evening but was delayed 24 hours. In a post on social media, SpaceX did not provide a specific reason for the delay, but stated it would allow “time to complete additional pre-launch check outs.”

This will be the seventh mission for the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) since its space debut in 2010 and the first time it has flown aboard the triple-booster Falcon Heavy rocket. SpaceX launched the fifth OTV mission in September 2017 on a Falcon 9. The other five flights of the spaceplane used the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 501 rocket.

Spaceflight Now will have live coverage of the mission starting an hour and 30 minutes ahead of liftoff.

As with prior flights of the military spaceplane, much about the mission remains undisclosed, including it’s orbit and activities after liftoff. In a statement the U.S. Space Force said: “The use of a Falcon Heavy rocket will expand the X-37B flight envelope, launching into a new orbital regime, and enabling unique experimentation opportunities for the X-37B.”

ULA’s Vulcan rocket sits at the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) ahead of the start of a wet dress rehearsal tanking test on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. Image: ULA

The debut of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket may slip from late December into early January, according to the company’s president and CEO, Tory Bruno. In a social media post on Sunday, Bruno said the planned Dec. 24 launch date is “likely out.”

The statement comes a couple days after the rocket conducted a Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR), where the vehicle was fully fueled and went the countdown was to proceed to the final seconds before cutting off. But Bruno said a “couple of routine ground issues came up near the end” of the test.

Ground teams were targeting a T-0 of 4:30 p.m. EST on Friday. Based on observations of venting during the operation it appeared the countdown reached its final four minutes before an abort occurred. The Vulcan vehicle left the launch pad and returned to the Vertical Integration Facility building at launch complex 41 Saturday afternoon.

“I’d like a full WDR before our first flight, so [Christmas] Eve is likely out,” Bruno said in his post on X. He added that they are working on schedules but Spaceflight Now understands another test has been scheduled for as soon as Tuesday.

#VulcanRocket WDR update: Vehicle performed well. Ground system had a couple of (routine) issues, (being corrected). Ran the timeline long so we didn't quite finish. I'd like a FULL WDR before our first flight, so XMAS eve is likely out. Next Peregrine window is 8 Jan.

A Falcon 9 carrying 22 Starlink satellites lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Dec. 8, 2023. Image: SpaceX.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted from the West Coast with another batch of satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink network at 12:03 a.m. PST Friday (3:03 a.m. EST / 0803 UTC). Including Starship test flights this was SpaceX’s 100th launch in 365 days.

The Starlink 7-8 mission began from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and departed on a south-easterly direction, targeting a 183×178 mile (295×286 km) orbit, inclined at 53 degrees to the equator. SpaceX’s webcast encountered technical difficulties and did not show the liftoff. It was the fastest turnaround for SpaceX’s West Coast launch pad with six days, 13 hours, 43 minutes and 57 seconds passing since the last launch from SLC-4E, beating the previous record set on Oct. 29, 2023, by almost 36 hours.

This was the:

281st Falcon 9 launch to date87th Falcon 9 launch of 202391st SpaceX orbital launch of 2023100th SpaceX launch in the last 365 days98th SpaceX orbital launch in the last 365 days59th SpaceX orbital launch from pad SLC-4E109th overall orbital launch from pad SLC-4E27th orbital launch of 2023 from Vandenberg Space Force Base200th overall orbital launch attempt of 2023

 
The first stage booster, making its 13th flight, previously launched the NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, Transporter-9 missions. Plus six previous Starlink delivery missions. After completing its burn, the first stage landed on the drone ship ‘Of Course I still Love You’ stationed about 400 miles downrange (644km) in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.

Falcon 9 booster 1071 approaches touchdown on the drone ship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ as it neared the end of its 13th fight. Image: SpaceX.

SpaceX confirmed deployment of the 22 Starlink satellites will occur just over an hour after launch in a social media post. This was the 40th launch of a batch of the V2 Mini Starlink model since it was introduced earlier this year. This new version is much larger than the previous V1.5 satellites and is equipped with upgraded antennae and larger solar panels, and are capable of delivering four times more bandwidth.

File photo a a Falcon 9 prior to a Starlink satellite delivery mission. Image: SpaceX.

SpaceX is preparing to hit another milestone with its late Wednesday night Starlink mission launch. The flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station will mark the company’s 90th orbital launch in 2023 and its 280th Falcon 9 launch to date.

Liftoff of the Starlink 6-33 mission is set for 11:01 p.m. EST (0401 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40.

Spaceflight Now will have live coverage of the mission starting an hour before liftoff on YouTube.

Weather for the mission is ideal at liftoff, but meteorologists have their eye on the picture downrange as well. Liftoff winds are the only watch item in a forecast that predicts 95 percent favorable weather.

“A secondary push of cold air will filter into the area [on Wednesday], bringing clear skies and a stronger pressure gradient over the Space Coast,” the launch forecast stated. “This will result in gusty surface winds through tomorrow evening which will slowly diminish through the launch window, so liftoff winds remain the only concern.”

Intuitive Machines engineers loading the IM-1 mission Nova-C lunar lander into its custom container in Houston, TX. Image: Intuitive Machines

In a blend of interesting circumstances and happenstance, two private companies and Japan’s space agency are all poised to land on the Moon in the back half of January 2024.

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines are all exercising distinct launch and landing options to reach the lunar surface. But all three have announced timelines that would see them land on the Moon within days of each other, if everything stays on track at this point.

While avoiding further timeline slipping is far from a certainty, Earth’s satellite could see its busiest month ever in terms of new spacecraft arriving.

As it happens, the last lander scheduled to launch could be the first to touch down on the Moon. Intuitive Machine’s Nova-C lander is targeting liftoff between Jan. 12-16 and is set to land at the Moon’s South Pole (80.297°S, 1.2613°E) on either Jan. 19 or 21.

A spokesperson for Intuitive Machines said the landing opportunity for both days is in the afternoon in EST.

The Falcon Heavy for the USSF 52 mission to launch the U.S. military’s X-37B spaceplane inside the hangar at launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Image: SpaceX.

Following two Falcon 9 launches from both California and Florida, SpaceX closed out the first weekend of December with a Falcon Heavy static fire test. The ignition of the 27 Merlin engines came a week ahead of the planned launch of a national security mission that has been on the books for half a decade.

The U.S. Space Systems Command said the USSF-52 mission is targeting liftoff no earlier than Sunday, Dec. 10. The launch window has not been announced publicly. It will be the first time the Falcon Heavy has conducted a launch for the U.S. military’s secretive X-37B spaceplane project. It will be the eighth Falcon Heavy launch to date and the seventh mission for the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle.

U.S. Space Systems Command noted that this will be the fifth mission in 2023 for the Assured Access to Space (AATS) Directorate:

USSF-67 – Jan. 15 (Falcon Heavy, SpaceX)GPS III-6 – Jan. 18 (Falcon 9, SpaceX)NROL-68 – June 21 (Delta 4 Heavy, ULA)NROL-107 – Sept. 10 (Atlas 5, ULA)USSF-52 – NET Dec. 10 (Falcon Heavy, SpaceX)

“Our national security space launches transport our most important capabilities into orbit,” said Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, Program Executive Officer for AATS and Commander, Space Launch Delta 45, in a statement. “We partner closely with our launch service providers, and the entire team is focused on executing a successful mission.”

The launch contract was awarded to SpaceX as part of the Phase 1A National Security Space Launch (NSSL) procurement. The launch contract with SpaceX for this mission is valued at about $155 million according to SSC and will feature side boosters that are flying for their fifth time.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket streaks across the sky above Florida’s Space Coast amid the Starlink 6-31 mission. Image: Adam Bernstein

SpaceX continued a busy weekend with the launch of another batch of Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station late Saturday night. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 occurred at 11:00 p.m. EST (0400 UTC).

Overcoming weather hurdles, the Starlink 6-31 mission marked SpaceX’s second launch in less than 40 hours. U.S. Space Force meteorologists had been concerned about the potential for rocket-trigger lightning from thick cloud layers and cumulus clouds. They also listed a low to moderate risk of upper level wind shear posing a threat. But in the end the Falcon 9 faced only a thin layer of cloud cover in the sky over Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX had pushed back the launch from Friday night. It did not provide an explanation but the Falcon 9 was not on the pad in time for the original launch date.

The first-stage booster for this launch, tail number B1078, was making its sixth flight after first launching the Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station on March 2, 2023. It also launched the O3b mPOWER 3 and 4 satellites as well as three Starlink missions.

About eight-and-a-half minutes after liftoff, it landed on the droneship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” out in the Atlantic Ocean. According to SpaceX, it was the 251st landing of an orbital class rocket after the Korea 425 mission’s landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base’s Landing Zone 4 claimed the distinction of landing number 250 on Friday.

A pair of prototype satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet constellation are encapsulated in a pair of payload fairings for launch aboard a ULA Atlas 5 rocket. Image: ULA

Tech giant Amazon is adding a fifth rocket to launch its satellite internet constellation. In a surprise move on Friday afternoon, the company announced it purchased three flights aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets to send batched of its Project Kuiper satellites to low Earth orbit.

The news was unexpected by many since the launch company, owned by Elon Musk, was previously left out of an historically large launch purchase when Amazon acquired 77 launches using Arianespace’s Ariane 6, Blue Origin’s New Glenn and United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rockets in spring 2022.

This purchase was on top of the previously announced nine launches using ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket. The first of these nine was used to launch the first two prototype satellites in October due to Vulcan delays.

In a blog post, Amazon stated that it three flights on board Falcon 9 rockets would start in mid-2025 and would “offer even more capacity to support our deployment schedule.” Spaceflight Now reached out to Amazon for further details, but a spokesperson said the blog post was the extent of their statement on Project Kuiper for the time being.

Ticking clock

A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the Korea 425 mission from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Image: SpaceX

Kicking off the month of December for SpaceX was a Falcon 9 ride share mission with a payload of 25 spacecraft on board. The launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base was headlined by the Korea 425 mission.

The rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at 10:19 a.m. PST (1:19 EST, 1819 UTC). The launch is set to be the first of two missions SpaceX plans to launch over the weekend. The company aims to launch another batch of 23 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The booster for the mission, B1061, made its 17th flight after previously launching the Crew-1 and Crew-2 missions along with the fourth and fifth Transporter rideshare missions. This launch also marked the first time a Falcon 9 first stage with more than 15 previous flight will support a non-Starlink mission.

Following launch, the booster landed back at Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) at VSFB about eight-and-a-half minutes after liftoff.

Headlining the slate of 25 spacecraft on board the Friday morning launch was a satellite for South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and its 425 Project. It features a 30cm resolution electro-optic (EO) and infrared (IR) sensors.