{"id":477289,"date":"2026-09-27T09:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T09:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/477289\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T09:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T09:46:15","slug":"spacex-launches-classified-mission-for-us-space-force-in-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/477289\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX launches classified mission for US Space Force in California"},"content":{"rendered":"

Residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties\u00a0may have been awoken by one or more sonic booms Saturday morning \u2014 evidence of a mysterious rocket launch by Elon Musks\u2019s SpaceX<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a USSF-385 mission for the US Space Force launched at 7 a.m. from California\u2019s Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Central Coast, Space.com reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The rocket\u2019s mission, its destination and its activities are reportedly classified. The SpaceX webcast of the launch was cut short, which is typical for national security<\/a> missions.<\/p>\n

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A Falcon 9 rocket launches the USSF-385 mission to orbit from pad 4E in California. SpaceX<\/p>\n

The rocket\u2019s booster \u2014 a first-stage engine used to give a spacecraft the extra thrust needed to break free from Earth\u2019s gravity and atmosphere \u2014 landed back on SpaceX\u2019s drone ship in the Pacific Ocean about eight-and-a-half minutes later.<\/p>\n

The launch marked SpaceX\u2019s third classified Space Force mission from Vandenberg in just 16 days, according to Space.com.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The rocket\u2019s mission, its destination and its activities are reportedly classified. SpaceX<\/p>\n

Falcon 9 rockets launched the USSF-153 and USSF-259 missions from the base on Sept. 10 and Sept. 16, respectively.<\/p>\n

The Falcon 9 has now been used more than 100 times this year. About three-quarters of its missions have been dedicated to building out the company\u2019s satellite internet service, Starlink, which has more than 11,000 low-orbit satellites.<\/p>\n

Musk\u2019s rocket company has not only been boosting rockets, but also his fortune. He became the world\u2019s first-ever trillionaire<\/a> this summer as shares of SpaceX took off in the stock market.<\/p>\n

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The launch was SpaceX\u2019s third national security mission of the month. Space.com<\/p>\n

Earlier this month,<\/a> shares of SpaceX soared over 5% on news the company has a new launch date for Starship \u2014 a huge, fully-reusable rocket that\u2019s central to the firm\u2019s business plans.<\/p>\n

A crucial 14th flight for Starship is planned for Monday, according to the company\u2019s website.<\/a> The upcoming flight is planned to be the first to send Starship into orbit around Earth.<\/p>\n

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