SpaceX Launches 3rd Classified Starshield Mission, Flying Falcon 9 Booster for 10th Time
Updated
Updated · Spaceflight Now · Sep 25
SpaceX Launches 3rd Classified Starshield Mission, Flying Falcon 9 Booster for 10th Time
3 articles · Updated · Spaceflight Now · Sep 25
Summary
USSF-385 lifted off from Vandenberg at 1400:54 UTC on Saturday, extending a secretive U.S. Space Force satellite deployment that is believed to be the third Starshield-based mission in the series.
SpaceX withheld payload and second-stage video at the customer's request, underscoring the mission's classified status as the rocket headed south from Space Launch Complex 4-East through dense fog.
B1100 completed its 10th flight and landed on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You about 8.5 minutes after launch.
23 satellites were cataloged after each of the previous two launches in this constellation—USSF-366 on Aug. 15 and USSF-153 on Sept. 10—while a separate Sept. 17 classified mission appeared to carry 17 satellites to another orbit.
6 Falcon 9 missions flew from Vandenberg this month versus just 1 from Cape Canaveral, reflecting SpaceX's shift of East Coast focus toward Starship operations.