SpaceX Launched USSF-62 to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Today

(Vandenberg Space Force Base, California) SpaceX launched its second national security mission of the year for the United States Space Force, USSF-62, today (Thursday, April 11) via a Falcon 9 rocket from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 7.25am PDT / 10.25am EDT (1425 GMT); onboard was the BAE Systems (BAESY: OTCPK)-built Weather System Follow-on - Microwave (WSF-M) satellite.

Photo of SpaceX’s USSF-62 mission launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base, courtesy of Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Today’s launch marked the third for the first stage Falcon 9 booster, which previously launched two Starlink missions, per SpaceX.

The 13th mission to launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base’s Spaceport to date, the WSF-M carried on USSF-62 is a low-earth orbit space vehicle capable of sensing, storing and transmitting microwave raw sensor data to enable derivation of ocean surface vector wind, tropical cyclone intensity, snow depth, soil moisture and sea ice characterization, supporting joint military operations and mission planning across the globe, according to Vanedenberg Space Force Base’s website.

WSF-M is a next-generation spacecraft that "will provide critical and actionable weather intelligence to military operations in all warfighting domains," according to BAE Systems, which developed and built the satellite, per Space.com.

WSF-M's primary instrument is a microwave imager, which will measure sea surface winds, the strength of tropical cyclones and gather other environmental data; also flying on the satellite is a space weather sensor provided by the U.S. government, according to BAE Systems, per Space.com.

"We’re absolutely thrilled be out here on the Central Coast, with a superb team primed and ready to launch the USSF-62 satellite," Col. Jim Horne, senior materiel leader for Space Systems Command's Launch Execution Delta, said in an emailed statement, per Space.com. "With each national security launch, we add to America’s capabilities and improve its deterrence in the face of growing threats."

The Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth safely, touching down at Vandenberg's Landing Zone 4 just under eight minutes after liftoff, according to Space.com.