Rocket Launches in California

An up-to-date list of all 47 scheduled rocket launches in California, and a map of active launch sites.

Rocket Launch Sites in California

Mojave Air and Space Port

Mojave Air and Space Port launch site

A leading air launch facility for private spaceflight and aerospace research in Mojave, California.

๐Ÿ“ CA, United States
๐Ÿš€ 58 Launches

Upcoming Launches

Vandenberg SFB

Vandenberg SFB launch site

U.S. Space Force facility in California for spacecraft launches and missile testing.

๐Ÿ“ CA, United States
๐Ÿš€ 804 Launches

Upcoming Launches

Upcoming California Launches

13 Dec, 7:28pm

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.

Last Update: GO for launch.

16 Dec, 9:33am

Sixth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to provide imaging and other reconnaissance capabilities.

Last Update: Targeting NET December 16.

Dedicated rideshare flight to a mid-inclination orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers. Payloads include the South Korean government's 425 Project Flight 3.

Last Update: NET December 29 (launch site switch is per https://twitter.com/hawkeye360/status/1859244042296385871).

Eighth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to provide imaging and other reconnaissance capabilities.

Updated: Dec 13, 2:30pm UTC

Seventh batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to provide imaging and other reconnaissance capabilities.

Updated: Dec 13, 2:30pm UTC

Dedicated rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.

Last Update: NET January 2025. (see also Varda W-Series 2 update at https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=58044.msg2640800#msg2640800)

SPHEREx is a planned two-year astrophysics mission to survey the sky in the near-infrared light, which, though not visible to the human eye, serves as a powerful tool for answering cosmic questions involving the birth of the universe, and the subsequent development of galaxies. It also will search for water and organic molecules โ€“ essentials for life as we know it โ€“ in regions where stars are born from gas and dust, known as stellar nurseries, as well as disks around stars where new planets could be forming. Astronomers will use the mission to gather data on more than 300 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in our own Milky Way galaxy. NASAโ€™s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission will share a ride to space with SPHEREx. It consists of four suitcase-sized satellites, which will focus on the Sunโ€™s outer atmosphere (the corona) and how it generates the solar wind. The spacecraft also will track coronal mass ejections โ€“ large eruptions of solar material that can drive large space weather events near Earth โ€“ to better understand their evolution and develop new techniques for predicting such eruptions.

Last Update: NET February.

First of six missions launched by the Space Development Agency for the Tranche 1 Transport Layer.

Last Update: NET March 2025.

First of up to 25 launches of Low Earth Orbit technology demonstration satellites to be built and operated by Lockheed Martin. TacSat is an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance spacecraft with a mission to prove specialized sensing and communications capabilities on orbit. The satellite will participate in exercises that highlight cross-domain kill-web connectivity, enabling timely execution of tactical space missions. TacSat will host a proven Lockheed Martin infrared sensor on board that brings previously developed technology to space for the first time. This sensor produces high quality imagery and it can interface with federated Battle Management Command & Control (BMC2) combat systems to provide joint forces with a comprehensive view of threats. The satellite will also feature Lockheed Martinโ€™s first 5G.MILยฎ payload on orbit. This provides cellular-like networking for military space assets, making satellite constellations more resilient. It also helps enable seamless connectivity with tools in the air, at sea and on land. Launch operation will also again demonstrate responsive space pre-launch operation capabilities.

Last Update: Updated payload.

๐ŸŽฏ Sun-Synchronous Orbit

The Electro-Optical/Infrared Weather System (EWS) Operational Demonstration-1 (OD-1) is a weather satellite for the United States Space Force. It is a prototype satellite made by General Atomics that will be place in LEO for a three-year demonstration mission of new EO/IR sensor technologies to various US military branches, and to act as a stop-gap for Defense Department needs for weather data.

Updated: Jan 17, 7:30am UTC

TBD

Jun 2025

NAOS (National Advanced Optical System) is the space component of Luxembourg's governmental dual-use observation satellite system LUXEOSys (Luxembourg Earth Observation System). Its purpose is to provide high resolution images to national and international governmental and military organizations such as NATO. The 800 kg satellite is built by OHB Italia and is equipped with a very high-resolution optical camera with a ground reolution of 50 cm in an around 450 km high sun-synchronous orbit. It will have a operational life time of 7 years.

Last Update: NET 1H 2025.

Demonstration mission for Lockheed Martin new LM400 satellite bus, which will carry a communications payload. The satellite bus is customizable to support different missions, including remote sensing, communications, imagery and radar Earth observations. It can also support different kinds of orbits and launch configurations.

Updated: Nov 26, 7:30am UTC

STP-S29A is a mission under the U.S. Department of Defense's Space Test Program (STP) that will deliver technology demonstrations to orbit and contribute to future space system development, with this launch delivering up to 200 kg of STP cubesats to Low Earth Orbit. The main payload will be STPSat-7, an ESPA class satellite based on the Aegis Aerospace M-1 satellite bus used on the STPSat-4 mission for hosting research and technology demonstration payloads for the Department of Defense (DoD). One of the payload is U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) Lightsheet Anomaly Resolution and Debris Observation (LARADO) instrument, used to detect and characterize lethal non-trackable orbital debris with lasers in orbit.

Updated: Oct 13, 6:00pm UTC

24 satellites for Rivada's internet constellation.

Updated: Apr 12, 11:33pm UTC

24 satellites for Rivada's internet constellation.

Updated: Apr 12, 11:33pm UTC

24 satellites for Rivada's internet constellation.

Updated: Apr 12, 11:33pm UTC

24 satellites for Rivada's internet constellation.

Updated: Apr 12, 11:33pm UTC

24 satellites for Rivada's internet constellation.

Updated: Apr 12, 11:33pm UTC

24 satellites for Rivada's internet constellation.

Updated: Apr 12, 11:33pm UTC

Classified mission launched by the Space Development Agency (SDA) for Tranche 1 Tracking Layer.

Updated: Apr 12, 11:33pm UTC

Classified mission launched by the Space Development Agency (SDA) for Tranche 1 Transport Layer.

Updated: Apr 12, 11:33pm UTC

Classified mission launched by the Space Development Agency (SDA) for Tranche 1 Transport Layer.

Updated: Apr 12, 11:33pm UTC

Classified mission launched by the Space Development Agency (SDA) for Tranche 1 Transport Layer.

Updated: Apr 12, 11:33pm UTC

Classified mission launched by the Space Development Agency (SDA) for Tranche 1 Transport Layer.

Updated: Apr 12, 11:33pm UTC