United Launch Alliance successfully launched its Vulcan Centaur rocket early Thursday morning, carrying a national security payload for the U.S. Space Force on the USSF-87 mission.
Liftoff occurred at 4:22 AM ET from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, about midway through a two-hour window that opened at 3:30 AM.
On one of those rare nights where it is actually winter on the Space Coast, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station carrying the GPS III SV09 satellite to orbit for the US Space Force. Liftoff was at 11:53 PM ET into clear, chilly skies.
Ascent was normal, with Main Engine Cutoff coming at T+ 02.29 into the mission. As the second stage and payload continued towards orbit, with Booster B1096 completing its fifth mission by landing on SpaceX’s drone ship ‘A Shortfall Of Gravitas’, which was prepositioned off the coast of the Carolinas. ASOG and the booster will now return to Port Canaveral, where B1096 will be offloaded, returned to SpaceX’s Hangar X at Kennedy Space Center where it will be inspected, refurbished and prepared for its next mission.
GPS III Space Vehicle 09 is the ninth of ten upgraded navigation satellites built by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Space Force. It offers three times better accuracy and eight times stronger anti-jamming capability compared to older GPS satellites. Military users get the encrypted M-code signal for secure operations, while civilians benefit from the L1C signal that works alongside Europe’s Galileo system.
The satellite is named “Ellison Onizuka” after the Air Force colonel and NASA astronaut lost in the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986—almost exactly 40 years ago. After reaching medium Earth orbit about 90 minutes after liftoff, SV09 will undergo testing before joining the operational GPS constellation.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Mission | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 6-101 — Go for Launch! |
| Organization | SpaceX |
| Location | Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 |
| Pad | Space Launch Complex 40 |
| Status | Go for Launch |
| Status Info | Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources. |
| Window Opens | Thursday, 01/29/2026 11:00 PM ET |
| Window Closes | Friday, 01/30/2026 3:00 AM ET |
| Destination | Low Earth Orbit |
| Mission Description | A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation – SpaceX’s project for space-based Internet communication system. |
| Broadcast Start Time | Coverage typically begins ~15 minutes before launch. |
| SpaceX Streaming Coverage | Watch Live on SpaceX.com |
| Spaceflight Now YouTube Coverage |
Watch on YouTube – Spaceflight Now Live Stream
(Coverage begins ~60 minutes before launch) |
As of 6:00 PM Monday January 27, 2026. Launch times are subject to change or cancellation at any time. Consult SpaceX.com for more information.
SpaceX launched a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office on December 9, 2025, aboard Falcon 9. Liftoff was at 02:16:25pm ET into leaden skies, with the rocket quickly behind the clouds, probably much to the delight of NRO. The launch direction was northeast.
At T+08:17s was NROL-77 was in its initial orbit and roughly eleven seconds later, Booster 1096 returned to land safely at LZ-2 inside Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at T+08:28s.
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