WASHINGTON (Realist English). A Falcon 9 launch vehicle from SpaceX launched into orbit on Saturday a group of 21 optical communication satellites of the US Space Force missile warning system. The launch vehicle developer reported this.
What was placed into orbit
The spacecraft under the Tranche 1 Transport Layer A mission are part of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. It is being created by the US Space Development Agency.
The structure is an integral part of the hybrid space architecture for national security in the areas of communications, data transmission, and missile warning.
The new system is being formed from a multi-layered network of satellites with wide-field-of-view infrared sensors in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 950 km. They will provide capabilities for detecting and tracking launches of hypersonic and ballistic missiles. It also includes spacecraft with high-speed laser communication channels for global transmission and relay of operational data.
Scale of the system
According to the US Space Development Agency, by the beginning of 2027 the system should consist of 154 spacecraft in total. Including 28 — for missile warning, indication, and tracking. 126 — for laser communications, data routing, navigation, and backup control systems.
Taking into account the current launch, already the fourth out of nine planned, there will be 84 spacecraft in orbit. Each of them, weighing 150 kg, is valued at $14 million.
Technical details
As part of the launch, the first reusable stage of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, which was used for the sixth time, performed a controlled vertical landing on a ground pad at Vandenberg Base approximately eight minutes after liftoff.
The launch was initially planned for October 5 but was postponed. On October 5, SpaceX aborted the launch attempt in the final minute of the countdown. The reason for the abort was not disclosed.
Change of generations
The new launch is taking place against the backdrop of a generational change in the American missile warning system. In September 2026, the US Space Force officially decommissioned the last two satellites of the DSP (Defense Support Program). They served for more than five decades.
DSP operated in geostationary orbit at an altitude of about 35,888 km. Each spacecraft was equipped with infrared sensors capable of detecting heat signatures from ballistic missile engines.
The satellites rotated continuously, scanning the Earth’s surface approximately six times per minute. The first DSP satellite was launched in 1970. In total, from 1971 to 2007, 23 spacecraft of this series were placed into orbit.
DSP was succeeded by the SBIRS system, whose launches began in 2011. The next stage is the Next-Gen OPIR program. The first NGG (Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Geosynchronous Earth Orbit) satellite is planned for launch no earlier than October 2026, the second — in September 2027. The total cost of the program is estimated at $8.5 billion.
