SpaceX Rocket Launch From Vandenberg Space Force Base Delayed Due to Bad Weather

SpaceX postponed a rocket launch carrying a U.S. military payload, the company announced in a social media post on October 15, 2025.

The Falcon 9 launch of the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 1 data transport mission is now scheduled at 4:03 p.m. PT on October 15, 2025, SpaceX said on its website.

SpaceX cited “unfavorable weather” for the delayed launch.

Due to unfavorable weather, now targeting Wednesday, October 15 for Falcon 9’s launch of @SemperCitiusSDA’s second Tranche 1 data transport mission from pad 4E in California → https://t.co/FEioE0pPqc

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 14, 2025

The rocket will launch from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

A live webcast of the mission will be available about 10 minutes before liftoff. It can be viewed on SpaceX’s social media page and X TV app.

Residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, SpaceX said. However, this is subject to the weather and other conditions.

A sonic boom is a sudden, thunder-like sound that people on the ground can hear. It happens when an aircraft or object flies faster than the speed of sound, breaking the sound barrier. Usually, it does not cause any damage to the areas experiencing it. Most of the time, people only hear a brief, loud noise.

Falcon 9 Rocket

The launch of Falcon 9 will be the seventh flight for the first stage booster supporting the mission, according to SpaceX. The mission previously launched SDA T1TL-B Tranche 1 and five Starlink missions.

After the stage separation, the first stage is expected to land on the ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ droneship. The droneship will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

The space vehicles launched as part of this mission are designed to provide data transport for the SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a network of satellites in low-Earth orbit.

The satellites will support global military tactical communication, missile warning, indication, and tracking capabilities.

The SDA previously launched the first PWSA Tranche 1 Transport Layer space vehicles from Vandenberg Space Force Base, it said on its website on September 10, 2025.

“Tranche 1 launches will continue with an approximate cadence of one launch per month for the next nine months, using the NSSL launch providers, until the full space vehicle constellation is in orbit,” SDA added. 

The PWSA is part of a multi-orbit strategy taking place across the U.S. Space Force, SDA explained.

The network of optically connected satellites focuses on delivering tactical data to the warfighter at “the edge”, tracking, and targeting for advanced missile threats. The satellites will also provide beyond-line-of-sight targeting for time-sensitive or mobile targets on land, at sea, and in the air.