Group 11-5 with 28 Starlink smallsats to launch from California
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is targeting the launch of 28 Starlink smallsats Group 11-5 to low-Earth orbit to join the Starlink constellation from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
This will be the 21st flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SDA-0A, SARah-2, Transporter-11, and now 17 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.
Falcon 9 set to launch SpainSat NG II for secure military communications from the Cape
SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, October 22 for Falcon 9’s launch of the SpainSat NG II mission to a geosynchronous transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The four-hour window opens at 9:30 p.m. ET. If needed, a backup opportunity is available on Thursday, October 23 at the same time.
In April 2019, Hisdesat contracted Airbus to enhance the Spainsat fleet and build the Spainsat Next Generation (NG) satellites. SpainSat NG-I was launched at end of January 2025 and SpainSat NG-II is planned for Wednesday.
Spainsat NG is a constellation of satellites providing military grade secure communications to the Spanish Armed Forces and its partners. The state of the art technology in the domain of flexible payloads makes this tri-band satellite in X, Ka and UHF bands particularly useful in providing critical communication services over two thirds of the Earth.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about 15 minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the X TV app.
Due to the additional performance required to deliver this payload to orbit, this will be the 22nd and final flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Intelsat IS-40e, SES O3b mPOWER-C, Ovzon-3, Eutelsat 26D, Turksat 6A, Maxar 2, SXM-9, and 12 Starlink missions.