SpaceX is targeting Thursday, April 11 for Falcon 9’s launch of the USSF-62 mission to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The approximate 10-minute launch window opens at 7:25 a.m. PT. If needed, a backup opportunity is available Friday, April 12 with the same launch window.
A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about 15 minutes prior to liftoff. Watch live.
The Weather System Follow-on–Microwave (WSF-M) represents the next-generation operational environmental satellite system for the Department of Defense, providing critical and actionable environmental intelligence to military operations in all warfighting domains.
Designed to address three high-priority space-based environmental monitoring (SBEM) requirements, WSF-M will ultimately mitigate six existing SBEM gaps:
| High Priority SBEM Gap | Additional SBEM Gaps |
| Ocean surface vector winds | Sea ice characterization |
| Tropical cyclone intensity | Soil moisture |
| LEO energetic charged particle characterization | Snow depth |
This will be the third launch of the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched two Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
As the prime contractor for the WSF-M mission, BAE Systems is responsible for developing and integrating the entire system, including the instrument, spacecraft and ground system software.
At the heart of the WSF payload is the Microwave Imager (MWI) sensor that takes calibrated passive radiometric measurements at multiple microwave frequencies to determine sea surface winds, tropical cyclone intensity and additional environmental data. In addition, a government-provided Energetic Charged Particle (ECP) sensor will provide space weather measurements.
As the prime contractor for the WSF-M mission, BAE Systems is responsible for developing and integrating the entire system, including the instrument and spacecraft. More importantly, WSF-M will broadcast real-time and actionable environmental intelligence to military operations in all warfighter domains.
The WSF-M bus is based on the configurable platform, a proven, agile spacecraft with 50 years of on-orbit operations for affordable remote sensing applications. The low Earth orbit (LEO) space vehicle is capable of sensing, storing, and transmitting microwave raw sensor data to enable derivation of ocean surface vector wind (OSVW), tropical cyclone intensity (TCI), snow depth, soil moisture and sea ice characterization.