EchoStar 19 launch seen from KSC Press Site

The sixth and final satellite in the U.S. military’s network of ultra-secure, nuclear-hardened AEHF communications relay stations has arrived in Florida for final preparations for liftoff in March on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, the first of nearly 20 U.S. Space Force missions planned for launch in the first year of operations for the new military service.

For the third time in 10 days, SpaceX is readying a Falcon 9 rocket for launch Sunday from Florida’s Space Coast with another 60 Starlink internet satellites. This time, SpaceX aims to extend the record for reusing a Falcon 9 booster to nine flights.

SpaceX’s fifth launch of replacement spacecraft for Iridium’s global voice and data communications network is set for March 29 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a flight that Iridium hopes will signal the start of a brisk pace of West Coast missions to complete deployment of the telecom company’s initial 75-satellite constellation this summer.