SpaceX is targeting a Falcon 9 launch from California‘s Vandenberg base at pad 4E for liftoff at 4:48 p.m. PST on Nov. 6, 2026.
It is a classified mission for the U.S. Space Force. The rocket will deploy satellites for a secret program from California. The flight carries the USSF-432 designation. Public documents use the name R-4.
Spaceflight Now reported that the satellites are believed to use SpaceX’s Starshield platform. The outlet calls Starshield the company’s government version of Starlink. The source calls Jonathan McDowell a respected tracker of space launches. He said the R satellites belong to the U.S. Space Force’s Space Based Sensing and Targeting program.
The U.S. Space Force has refused to share details. Spaceflight Now said the refusal was official. The catalog indicates that each R mission has deployed 23 satellites. The spacecraft are described as Starshield-based.
USSF-366 began the R-mission series on Aug. 16. USSF-153, also called R-2, followed on Sept. 10. USSF-385, also called R3, followed on Sept. 26. Spaceflight Now places this flight in that series of R launches.
B1095 is on its eighth flight as a booster. The booster will land on Of Course I Still Love You. Spaceflight Now said the ship is off Baja California, Mexico in the Pacific Ocean.
The rocket will head southeast from the central California coast. Spaceflight Now will stream live coverage beginning roughly half an hour before liftoff.
The launch was first planned for Nov. 1. The date moved back more than once. Starlink 15-18 launch delays caused the first postponement. Later delays came for undisclosed reasons.
Join the discussion