Live coverage: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket makes its final launch of the year

Putting on a holiday light show for Southern California and much of the desert southwest, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fired into a twilight sky from the Pacific coastline Friday night to add 10 new satellites to Iridium’s upgraded communications network.

The next Cygnus resupply mission to the International Space Station set for liftoff Wednesday from Virginia’s Eastern Shore will introduce new capabilities for the commercial cargo freighter, including a longer operating life enabled by fuel-saving gyroscopes to support an extended mission months after the spacecraft departs the International Space Station, Northrop Grumman officials said.

The Starlink 15-2 mission was the 30th orbital launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in 2025. SpaceX achieved liftoff of its Falcon 9 rocket from pad 4 East at 7:05 p.m. PDT (10:05 p.m. EDT, 0205 UTC).