SpaceX to launch classified USSF-385 Space Force mission from Vandenberg

SpaceX will attempt to launch a classified mission for the U.S. Space Force before dawn on Saturday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Liftoff of the USSF-385 mission aboard a Falcon 9 is scheduled for 5:56 a.m. PDT (12:56 UTC) at the opening of a three-hour launch window from Space Launch Complex 4-East, with the rocket flying a southerly trajectory out over the Pacific. A second named report confirms the Saturday, Sept. 26 window and notes a backup opportunity the following day if the attempt is delayed.

Trade-press analysis, not an official statement, suggests USSF-385 may be the third in a series of flights deploying satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield, the government-oriented version of Starlink. The Space Force disclosed no details of the mission, but 23 satellites were catalogued in orbit after each of the two earlier flights, USSF-366 on Aug. 15 and USSF-153 on Sept. 10. A similar mission, USSF-259, went to a different orbit on Sept. 17 with 17 satellites.

The first-stage booster, B1100, is flying for a 10th time and will attempt to land on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You about eight and a half minutes after launch.

The flight would be the sixth and final Falcon 9 launch of the month from Vandenberg, which has become SpaceX’s primary Falcon site as Cape Canaveral shifts toward Starship operations — only one Falcon 9 flew from the East Coast in September.

Sources

• Spaceflight Now, “SpaceX Falcon 9 to launch classified mission for U.S. Space Force from West Coast”, Sept. 25, 2026 — https://spaceflightnow.com/2026/09/25/spacex-falcon-9-to-launch-classified-mission-for-u-s-space-for
• Ventura County Star (USA Today Network), “SpaceX to launch Space Force mission. Where to see rocket in California”, Sept. 25, 2026 — https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/california/2026/09/25/vandenberg-rocket-launch-spacex/91885068007/