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Falcon 9 Block 5 | SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer E

Falcon 9 Block 5 launched the SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer E mission for SpaceX from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA on Jul 16, 2026 (UTC).

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Launch pad

Space Launch Complex 4E · Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Falcon 9 Block 5 | SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer E

Launched Jul 17, 2026 5:32:36 AMSuccess

21 objects in orbit now

Flight direction

170° S

measured from the launched orbit · inclination 81.5°

Flight path

First-stage drop zone (rough estimate)

Drawn 400–700 km downrange along the flight direction. Official hazard areas are published as NOTAMs and navigational warnings.

About the mission

Tranche 1 Transport Layer E is one of six missions by the United States Space Force Space Development Agency (SDA) for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer constellation, which will provide assured, resilient, low-latency military data and connectivity worldwide to the full range of warfighter platforms from Low Earth Orbit satellites. The constellation will be interconnected with Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISLs) which have significantly increased performance over existing radio frequency crosslinks. It is expected to operate over Ka band, have stereo coverage and be dynamically networked for simpler hand-offs, greater bandwidth and fault tolerance. This launch carries 21 satellites manufactured by York Space Systems.

Mission description from Launch Library 2.

Objects from this launch still in orbit

Launch time (your time zone)
Fri, Jul 17 · 5:32:36 AM
Status
Success
Launch provider
SpaceX
Rocket
Falcon 9 Block 5
Mission type
Government/Top Secret
Target orbit
PO
Launch pad
Space Launch Complex 4E · Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA