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SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base today at 5:11 a.m.

It was carrying two reconnaissance satellites for the German Military.

This was the eighth flight of the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SDA-0A and six Starlink missions, as said by SpaceX in their launch description.

The flight for this mission, Sarah-2, had originally been slated for yesterday but was pushed back a day to allow for additional pre-flight checks.

SARah 2 is a passive reflector antenna radar satellite built by OHB-System, according to Next Space Flight.

This marks the 94 orbital mission launched so far this year.

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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch was a success this morning - KSBY News

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The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is pictured approaching the space station above the Indian Ocean on March 16, 2023.

Following a weather review, NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than 5:05 p.m. EST Thursday, Dec. 21, forthe undocking ofthe companys 29th Dragon commercial resupply services missionfrom the International Space Station due to unfavorable weather in the splashdown zones off the coast of Florida.

Coverage of Dragons departure Thursday will begin at 4:45 p.m. on the NASA+ streaming service viathe webor theNASA app. Coverage also will air live on NASA Television,YouTube, and on the agencyswebsite. Learn how tostream NASA TVthrough a variety of platforms including social media.

After re-entering Earths atmosphere, the spacecraft will splash down off the coast of Florida, which will not be broadcast on NASA TV. Follow updates on return plans on the agencysspace stationblog.

NASA and Northrop Grumman continue to target Friday, Dec. 22, for the departure of the Cygnus spacecraft from the orbital complex.

Coverage of Cygnus departure Friday will begin at 7:45 a.m. ahead of the robotic release of the spacecraft at 8:05 a.m. on the NASA+ streaming service viathe webor theNASA app. Coverage also will air live on NASA Television,YouTube, and on the agencyswebsite.

Cygnus will conduct secondary payload operations following unberthing and complete a safe re-entry into the Earths atmosphere where it will burn up harmlessly over the Pacific Ocean.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: http://www.nasa.gov/subscribe

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SpaceX Dragon Departure from Space Station Targets Thursday Space Station - NASA Blogs

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SpaceX's next private astronaut launch has been delayed until mid-January.

The company had been planning to launch Axiom Space's Ax-3 mission to the International Space Station on Jan. 9. However, the timeline has slipped by a little over a week, to Jan. 17, NASA announced today (Dec. 21).

The delay is "due to recent unfavorable weather conditions and changes in SpaceXs launch manifest," agency officials said today in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).

The liftoff, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, will occur from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and send four people toward the ISS in a Dragon capsule. You'll be able to watch it live here at Space.com when the time comes.

Related: Axiom Space names Ax-3 astronaut crew for SpaceX mission to ISS

As its name indicates, Ax-3 is the third private astronaut mission to the ISS organized by Houston-based company Axiom Space. All of these flights employ SpaceX hardware to send four-person crews to the orbiting lab for roughly two-week-long missions.

The first, Ax-1, launched in April 2022. Ax-2 followed in May of this year.

Ax-3 will be commanded by former NASA astronaut Michael Lpez-Alegra, who now works for Axiom. (NASA requires that all private crewed missions to the ISS be helmed by a former agency astronaut).

Joining Lpez-Alegra will be Italian Air Force Col. Walter Villadei, who flew to suborbital space with Virgin Galactic in June of this year, European Space Agency astronaut Marcus Wandt, and Alper Gezeravc, who will become the first Turkish citizen to reach the final frontier.

Rough weather has delayed a number of SpaceX launches from Florida's Space Coast lately, affecting other missions on the company's manifest such as Ax-3.

For example, SpaceX initially aimed to pull off a Florida launch doubleheader on Dec. 11, lofting a batch of its Starlink internet satellites and the U.S. Space Force's X-37B space plane atop a Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rocket, respectively. But the Starlinks didn't get off the ground until this past Monday (Dec. 18), and the X-37B still hasn't lifted off; it's now scheduled to fly on Dec. 28.

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SpaceX launch of Axiom Space's 3rd private astronaut mission delayed to Jan. 17 - Space.com

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SpaceX's latest Starship vehicle has begun flexing its considerable muscle.

SpaceX conducted a "static fire" test today (Dec. 20) with the Starship upper-stage prototype known as Ship 28, briefly igniting the vehicle's Raptor engines while it remained anchored to the pad at the company's Starbase site in South Texas.

Ship 28 is being prepped to conduct Starship's third test flight, which SpaceX aims to launch in the coming weeks. And that timeline apparently remains in target, for today's trial went well.

"Flight 3 Starship completed a full-duration static fire with all six of its Raptor engines," SpaceX said this afternoon in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), which also featured video of the test.

Related: SpaceX's 2nd Starship launch looks amazing in stunning photos and videos

Starship consists of two elements: a huge first-stage booster called Super Heavy and a 165-foot-tall (50 meters) upper-stage spacecraft known (somewhat redundantly) as Starship.

Both of these stages are designed to be fully and rapidly reusable, and both are powered by SpaceX's next-generation Raptor engine. Super Heavy sports 33 Raptors and Starship is powered by six of them, as SpaceX's post on X today noted.

Starship has flown twice to date, on test flights in April and November of this year. Both missions aimed to send the upper stage most of the way around Earth, targeting a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.

Neither flight achieved that goal. Starship suffered a number of problems during its April debut, most notably the failure of its two stages to separate as planned, and SpaceX detonated the vehicle intentionally four minutes after liftoff.

Flight 2 notched some major successes, among them stage separation and a nominal first-stage engine burn. But it too ended early, with the explosion of the upper stage about eight minutes after launch.

SpaceX wants to get Starship aloft again soon, as shown by the current testing of Ship 28 and its flight partner, a Super Heavy prototype called Booster 10.

It's unclear when that will happen, however. Even if testing continues to go well, SpaceX may still have to wait a while for a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA is overseeing an investigation into what happened on Flight 2; it won't grant a license until that inquiry is done and SpaceX has implemented corrective actions, if any are required.

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SpaceX fires up giant Starship rocket ahead of 3rd test flight (video) - Space.com

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SpaceX Falcon 9 launches Saturday; rocket booster logs 19th landing - Florida Today

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