SpaceX to Launch Classified USSF-481 Mission From Vandenberg

SpaceX plans a classified launch from California on Thursday evening. A Falcon 9 is set to lift the USSF-481 mission for the U.S. Space Force from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The four hour window opens at 4:44 p.m. Pacific time on October 15 and runs to 8:44 p.m., the Ventura County Star reported.

The payload is classified. SpaceX and the Space Force have not said what sits under the fairing. Multiple spaceflight outlets have reported the mission could deliver a batch of military satellites to low Earth orbit. That is a report about the likely cargo, not a confirmed manifest, and this article treats it that way.

A booster flying for the 28th time

The first stage for this flight is booster B1081, flying for the 28th time, Tech Times reported. Its past flights include Crew-7, CRS-29, the PACE science mission and a run of Starlink and national security launches. After stage separation, the booster is planned to land on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.

The rocket will fly a southern trajectory from Vandenberg, SpaceX said in its mission notes carried by launch trackers. There will be no second stage video or fairing deployment footage, because the mission is classified.

One launch from a record

This would be the 70th rocket launch of 2026 from Vandenberg, the Star reported. California notched 71 launches in all of 2025. At the current pace, the base is on track to pass that record this year, with a record tying or record breaking window now expected later in October if schedules hold.

Weather for the window was forecast sunny and mostly clear over Santa Barbara County, according to the National Weather Service outlook cited by the Star. A backup chance is available on Friday, October 16, with a window opening at 4:35 p.m. Pacific time, launch trackers reported.

How to watch

SpaceX plans a live webcast starting about 10 minutes before liftoff. On the ground in California, the late window crosses sunset on the Central Coast, which is why launch watchers gather at viewing sites near Lompoc for evening Vandenberg flights.

What happens next

Watch the window. A launch late in the window still counts for the base record pace, and a scrub moves the attempt to the Friday backup. What the satellite or satellites do once in orbit will stay classified. The public record of this mission will be the launch itself, the booster landing, and one more line in Vandenberg's busiest year.