Vandenberg Launch Schedule
Upcoming launches out of Vandenberg AFB, California
Firefly Alpha | FLTA006 (Message in a Booster)
Firefly Aerospace | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
March 26, 2025
Status: To Be Confirmed
Mission:
Sixth flight of the Firefly Alpha small satellite launcher, launching the demonstration mission for Lockheed Martin's new LM400 satellite bus, which will carry a communications payload. The satellite bus is customizable to support different missions, including remote sensing, communications, imagery and radar Earth observations. It can also support different kinds of orbits and launch configurations.
Low Earth Orbit
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 11-7
SpaceX | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
March 26, 2025
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 11-13
SpaceX | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
March 31, 2025
Minotaur IV | EWS OD-1
Orbital ATK | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD May, 2025
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
The Electro-Optical/Infrared Weather System (EWS) Operational Demonstration-1 (OD-1) is a weather satellite for the United States Space Force. It is a prototype satellite made by General Atomics that will be place in LEO for a three-year demonstration mission of new EO/IR sensor technologies to various US military branches, and to act as a stop-gap for Defense Department needs for weather data.
Sun-Synchronous OrbitFirefly Alpha | TacSat
Firefly Aerospace | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD June, 2025
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
First of up to 25 launches of Low Earth Orbit technology demonstration satellites to be built and operated by Lockheed Martin. TacSat is an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance spacecraft with a mission to prove specialized sensing and communications capabilities on orbit. The satellite will participate in exercises that highlight cross-domain kill-web connectivity, enabling timely execution of tactical space missions. TacSat will host a proven Lockheed Martin infrared sensor on board that brings previously developed technology to space for the first time. This sensor produces high quality imagery and it can interface with federated Battle Management Command & Control (BMC2) combat systems to provide joint forces with a comprehensive view of threats. The satellite will also feature Lockheed Martin’s first 5G.MIL® payload on orbit. This provides cellular-like networking for military space assets, making satellite constellations more resilient. It also helps enable seamless connectivity with tools in the air, at sea and on land. Launch operation will also again demonstrate responsive space pre-launch operation capabilities.
Low Earth Orbit
Falcon 9 Block 5 | NAOS
SpaceX | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD June, 2025
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
NAOS (National Advanced Optical System) is the space component of Luxembourg's governmental dual-use observation satellite system LUXEOSys (Luxembourg Earth Observation System). Its purpose is to provide high resolution images to national and international governmental and military organizations such as NATO. The 800 kg satellite is built by OHB Italia and is equipped with a very high-resolution optical camera with a ground reolution of 50 cm in an around 450 km high sun-synchronous orbit. It will have a operational life time of 7 years.
Sun-Synchronous OrbitMinotaur IV | STP-S29A
Orbital ATK | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD September, 2025
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
STP-S29A is a mission under the U.S. Department of Defense's Space Test Program (STP) that will deliver technology demonstrations to orbit and contribute to future space system development, with this launch delivering up to 200 kg of STP cubesats to Low Earth Orbit. The main payload will be STPSat-7, an ESPA class satellite based on the Aegis Aerospace M-1 satellite bus used on the STPSat-4 mission for hosting research and technology demonstration payloads for the Department of Defense (DoD). One of the payload is U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) Lightsheet Anomaly Resolution and Debris Observation (LARADO) instrument, used to detect and characterize lethal non-trackable orbital debris with lasers in orbit.
Low Earth OrbitFalcon 9 Block 5 | SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer B
SpaceX | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD September, 2025
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Rivada 1
SpaceX | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD December, 2025
Falcon 9 Block 5 | SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer A
SpaceX | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD December, 2025
Ceres-1
Yunyao-1 43-48
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China6 weather satellites performing atmospheric measurements using GNSS Radio Occultation for a Tianjin based company. Constellation is planned to have a…
Falcon 9
NROL-57
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USAEighth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office t…
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 12-25
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USAA batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Electron
High Five (Kinéis 21-25)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New ZealandLast of five batches of five satellites for the French Kinéis IoT constellation designed to operate with 25 nanosatellites of 30 kg each.
Ceres-1
8 satellites
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaCarried 8 satellites to 535 km high SSO: * Yunyao-1 #55-60 * AIRSAT-06 & 07
Angara 1.2
3 x Rodnik (Kosmos 2585, 2586, 2587)
35/1 - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian FederationNote: Payload identity and Cosmos series numbering not confirmed. The Strela (Russian: Стрела) are Soviet, then Russian, military space telecommun…
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 12-16
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USAA batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Falcon 9
Transporter 13 (Dedicated SSO Rideshare)
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USADedicated rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.
Long March 2D
SuperView Neo 3-02
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaCommercial Earth observation satellite built by CAST for China Siwei Survey and Mapping Technology Co. Ltd, with 0.5 m resolution over 9 image wavele…
Electron
The Lightning God Reigns (iQPS Launch 1)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New ZealandSynthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.
