Falcon 9 Block 5 | USSF-266
SpaceX
- Pad
- Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
- Orbit
- Polar Orbit (PO)
- Rocket
- Falcon 9 Block 5
No earlier than Nov 17, 2026, 11:58 AM ET
Launch Library gives this time to the minute.
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STATUS
Go for Launch. Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources.
MISSION
- Mission
- USSF-266
- Type
- Government/Top Secret
- Orbit
- Polar Orbit (PO)
A classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite bus, based on locations of ascent rocket stage drop zones being fits with previous SDA Transport Layer launches.
ROCKET AND PROVIDER
- Rocket
- Falcon 9 Block 5
- Provider
- SpaceX (commercial)
- On SpaceDew
- SpaceX
- Window
- Nov 17, 2026, 11:58 AM ET to Nov 17, 2026, 3:58 PM ET
SEEING IT
Where people watch from on Vandenberg, California, with the distance to Space Launch Complex 4E:
- 4 miSurf Beach (Amtrak station): the closest public spot; closed for some launches, no facilities
- 8 miHawk's Nest viewing area (Azalea Lane): high ground the base sometimes opens as its official site
- 10 miHarris Grade Road, the top: the farthest of these, with elevation when fog sits on the coast
- 11 miProvidence Landing Park, Vandenberg Village: a common gathering spot in town
- 5 miOcean Avenue (Highway 246) west of Lompoc: cars line the road toward the coast
From the pad to Lompoc 9 mi, Santa Maria 24 mi, Santa Barbara 54 mi, San Luis Obispo 45 mi, Los Angeles 141 mi, San Diego 238 mi.
A rule of thumb, not a promise: at night with clear skies a launch is a bright point climbing the sky for roughly 150 miles along the coast (Florida Today puts a Cape launch in view from Jacksonville to West Palm Beach); in daylight it is a plume you need to be much closer to see. Haze, cloud and the rocket's path all change it.
Closures and official viewing sites: Vandenberg Space Force Base. Sources: Explore Lompoc: best places to view a launch.
Source: Launch Library 2 (The Space Devs), record updated Nov 9, 2026, 4:55 PM ET. Times are US Eastern. Every launch SpaceDew tracks