SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026 at 4:48 p.m. PST carrying classified satellites for the U.S. Space Force on the USSF-432 mission, also designated R-4 in public documents.
The rocket took a south-easterly trajectory from pad 4E. The flight was originally scheduled for Nov. 1 but faced repeated delays, first from a Starlink launch delay and then for undisclosed reasons.
Each satellite in the R series carries 23 spacecraft to orbit. Jonathan McDowell, a respected space launch tracker, identifies these satellites as part of the U.S. Space Force's Space Based Sensing and Targeting program. The satellites are thought to be based on SpaceX's Starshield platform, the government version of Starlink. The Space Force has declined to provide official information about the missions.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster, B1095, made its eighth flight. It previously launched only from the East Coast at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center before transferring cross-country following the GPS 3-8 mission in April. The booster landed on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean off Baja California, Mexico.
This launch continues the R series that began Aug. 16 with USSF-366, followed by USSF-153 (R-2) on Sept. 10 and USSF-385 (R-3) on Sept. 26.