Vandenberg Air Force Base – Spaceflight Now

Falcon 9 rocket test-fired for California launch next week

August 19, 2017

A commercial Falcon 9 rocket in the final stages of launch preparations fired its nine Merlin main engines Saturday at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, verifying its readiness for liftoff with a Taiwanese Earth-imaging payload Thursday.

SpaceX launches and lands second Falcon 9 rocket in two days

June 25, 2017

Two days after launching a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida, SpaceX sent another mission into orbit Sunday from California’s Central Coast with 10 new satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay network.

Video: Rocketcam replay of Iridium satellite deployment

June 25, 2017

Watch a replay of one of Iridium’s 10 communications satellites launched Sunday deploys from a dispenser mounted on the forward end of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 upper stage.

Video: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg, lands in Pacific

June 25, 2017

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Sunday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and carried 10 Iridium communications satellites toward a perch in low Earth orbit, then the launcher’s first stage nailed a landing on a platform positioned in the Pacific Ocean.

Falcon 9 rocket launching Sunday sports fin upgrade

June 25, 2017

Redesigned titanium steering fins will fly aboard a Falcon 9 rocket launching Sunday from California, part of upgrades SpaceX says will ease the reuse of future boosters.

Photos: Iridium satellites prepped for Falcon 9 flight

June 25, 2017

The second set of Iridium’s next-generation satellites to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket were prepared for liftoff inside a climate-controlled clean room at Vandenberg Air Force Base over the last few weeks.

Timeline for Falcon 9’s second launch of Iridium satellites

June 25, 2017

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the second set of 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet.

Live coverage: Ten Iridium satellites successfully deployed by Falcon 9 rocket

June 24, 2017

Ten new satellites joined Iridium’s global voice and data relay constellation Sunday after a successful launch, and landing, of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Liftoff occurred at 1:25 p.m. PDT (4:25 p.m. EDT; 2025 GMT).

SpaceX rocket passes key preflight test before liftoff from California

June 20, 2017

Juggling simultaneous launch campaigns on both coasts, a team of SpaceX engineers put a Falcon 9 rocket through a customary countdown rehearsal and hold-down firing Tuesday at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California ahead of a scheduled liftoff Sunday.

Falcon 9 launch delay sets up potential SpaceX ‘doubleheader’ next weekend

June 18, 2017

SpaceX has pushed back the liftoff of a Bulgarian television broadcast satellite on the company’s second previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket until at least Friday, giving ground crews time to replace a valve on the launcher inside a hangar at its Florida launch pad.