Watch the Falcon 9 launch from pad 39A

The NROL-105 mission is the first of about a dozen missions planned for 2026 that support the NRO’s so-called proliferated architecture satellite constellation. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 8:39:51 p.m. PST (11:39:51 p.m. EST / 0439:51 UTC).

In parallel with an on-going failure investigation, SpaceX is readying downstream Crew Dragon spacecraft for flight in hopes that corrective actions can be implemented in time to launch two astronauts to the International Space Station before the end of the year, a senior NASA manager said Tuesday.

This was the first of planned back-to-back Falcon 9 launches from Florida, less than four hours apart. Liftoff of the Starlink 6-89 mission happened at 10:08 p.m. EST (0308 UTC).