Update 8:23 p.m. EDT (0023 UTC): SpaceX landed its booster on the droneship.
As the bugle call and National Anthem sounded across Vandenberg Space Force Base, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched carrying a classified payload for the United States Space Force on Thursday evening.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened at 5:01 p.m. PDT (8:01 p.m. EDT / 0001 UTC). The mission, designated USSF-481, took a southerly trajectory upon leaving the pad. Hazard warnings suggest that it flew to a low Earth orbit inclined about 80 degrees from the Equator.
SpaceX launched this mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster B1081. This was its 28th launch following four missions for NASA, three nationals security missions, two Transporter rideshare missions, two missions for Europe, and 16 Starlink missions.
A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1081 landed on the droneship, Of Course I Still Love You, positioned in the Pacific Ocean. This was the 228th landing on this vessel and the 671st Falcon booster landing to date.
The USSF-481 is also referenced as “TH-2” in public notices. It’s the second “TH” mission launched in as many months with the first being USSF-259 or TH-1 on Sept. 16.
Spaceflight Now reached out to the Department of the Air Force regarding the nature of the mission. This article will be updated if we receive a response prior to launch.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching on a secretive mission for the U.S. military gets a musical send-off from Vandenberg Space Force Base with the five o’clock bugle call ‘Retreat’ followed by the National Anthem. https://t.co/4YMB8Ha6ih
— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) October 16, 2026
