[Launch Alert] Falcon 9 Launched

[Launch Alert]

The following are two news releases about this morning's Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg SFB:
 
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NROL-85 Launches from Vandenberg
Space Launch Delta 30 Public Affairs
 
VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Team Vandenberg launched the National Reconnaissance Office mission (NROL-85) from Space Launch Complex-4 East here Sunday, April 17, at 6:13 a.m. Pacific Time.
 
Col. Rob Long, Space Launch Delta 30 commander, was the launch decision authority.
 
“Today the Western Range teamed with the National Reconnaissance Office to deliver a critical national security payload, which will provide our warfighters and decision-makers with vital intelligence data,” said Col. Rob Long, Space Launch Delta 30 commander. “This is the 20th NRO launch from the Western Range since 1996 and I’m proud of both the team today and the long-standing and strong partnership with the NRO. Go NROL-85!”
 
NROL-85 is the first NRO mission to reuse a SpaceX rocket booster. NROL-87, launched only two months earlier, was the first NRO launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket intended to be reused for a future mission.
 
NROL-85 is the second Falcon 9 launch procured through the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) contract to launch from the Western Range. Following the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 the mission’s first stage returned to land on Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
 
Space Launch Delta 30’s primary responsibilities include maintaining and operating the Western range, safeguarding the public, providing mission assurance and ensuring minimal environmental impact so we can provide services, facilities and range safety control for the execution of DoD, civil and commercial launches.
 
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US Space Force, SpaceX Successfully Launches National Reconnaissance Office Mission from California
 
LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE – EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command, SpaceX and the National Reconnaissance Office successfully launched the NROL-85 mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket today at 6:13 a.m. from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
 
“We launched our second National Security Space Launch SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base and it was superb.  The integrated team, the rocket, the satellite, everything was GO and this launch went smoothly,” said Col. Robert Bongiovi, director of the Space Systems Command’s Launch Enterprise.  “With each launch, we add to the nation’s capabilities. Putting capability in space is what we do, and together we’re fielding the tools needed to address the threat. And we’ve built fantastic partnerships with industry and teammates such as the NRO to efficiently deliver these systems to orbit.”
 
This is the second National Security Space Launch Falcon 9 launched from Vandenberg, and the sixth Falcon 9 NSSL launch to date.
 
“We achieved this success by working together, ensuring every facet of this mission was thoughtfully planned and carefully accomplished,” said Dr Walt Lauderdale, Chief of SSC’s Launch Enterprise Falcon Division. “The NRO, SpaceX and the Space Systems Command’s 30th Space Launch Delta and Launch Enterprise remained mission-focused and placed critical national capabilities on orbit to support our country’s needs. Semper supra!”  Space Systems Command is the U.S. Space Force field command responsible for rapidly identifying, prototyping and fielding resilient space capabilities for joint warfighters. SSC delivers sustainable joint space warfighting capabilities to defend the nation and its allies while disrupting adversaries in the contested space domain. SSC mission areas include launch acquisition and operations; space domain awareness; positioning, navigation and timing; missile warning; satellite communication; and cross-mission ground, command and control data.  
 
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Here is an observation of this morning's launch:
 
Ken S.
San Jose, Calif.
 
"Saw the ascent from south San Jose.  After separation, I saw the second stage for several minutes.  I saw all of the boost back and some of the entry burn all the way down to my local marine layer.  Looked for tumbling/glittering fairings (seen once before just after local sunset), but saw nothing."