(KRON) — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was successfully launched Thursday at 7:25 a.m. from a launchpad at Vandenberg Space Force Base on California’s Central Coast.
The rocket carried a U.S. Space Force weather satellite (WSF-M) into low Earth orbit, military officials said.
The launch was conducted by Guardians and Airmen of Space Launch Delta 30, Space Systems Command, Assured Access to Space, as well as SpaceX.
Once in orbit, the WSF-M satellite will “provide U.S. and Allied warfighters with essential weather data, including the measurement of ocean surface wind speed and direction, ice thickness, snow depth, soil moisture, and local spacecraft Energetic Charged Particle environment,” Vandenberg officials wrote.
The data gathered will be provided to meteorologists to conduct mission planning and operations globally. “The launch of the WSF-M satellite represents a significant step forward in our mission to enhance our nation’s space capabilities,” Vandenberg officials wrote.
Vandenberg SFB is the U.S. Space Force’s West Coast spaceport and test range. As one of only two high-capacity spaceports for the United States, the base has enabled more than 2,060 launches.
