When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
SpaceX launched the first mission of 2026 tonight (Jan. 2).
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California tonight at 9:09 p.m. EST (6:09 p.m. local California time; 0209 GMT on Jan. 3), carrying an Italian Earth-observing satellite to orbit.
The rocket's first stage landed back at Vandenberg as planned about 8.5 minutes after liftoff. It was the 21st flight for this particular booster, according to SpaceX.
About 4.5 minutes later, the Falcon 9's second stage deployed the payload — a COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellite — into low Earth orbit for the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defence.
The spacecraft will study Earth using synthetic aperture radar, gathering data at all times of day and in all weather conditions from an altitude of 385 miles (620 kilometers).
COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation is a small network designed to "monitor the Earth for the sake of emergency prevention, strategy, scientific and commercial purposes, providing data on a global scale to support a variety of applications," according to a European Space Agency explainer.
Among those applications are "risk management, cartography, forest & environment protection, natural resources exploration, land management, defense and security, maritime surveillance, food & agriculture management," the explainer adds.
Three COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellites have now launched to date. The first one flew in December 2019 atop a Soyuz rocket, and the second lifted off in January 2022 on a Falcon 9.
Tonight's liftoff was the first of 2026 not just for SpaceX but for the global launch community.
It's no surprise that SpaceX is breaking in the year. Elon Musk's company launched a whopping 165 orbital missions in 2025 — far more than any other entity, either commercial or governmental. That was also a record for SpaceX, which the company may aim to break again this year.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 9:25 p.m. ET on Jan. 2 with news of successful launch, rocket landing and satellite deployment.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Instructions to Floss Appropriately and Forestall Gum Sickness - 27 Powerful Methods for forestalling Telephone Overheating: Keep Your Gadget Cool
- 3Latvia seeks emergency UN meeting over Russian missile attack on Lviv
- 4Scientists solve the mystery of 'impossible' merger of 'forbidden' black holes
- 5New study measures titanium in Apollo rock to uncover Moon’s early chemistry
- A Manual for Pick Great Lawful Discussion Administrations For New businesses In 2024
- 100 new alien worlds: Scientists find hidden haul in data from NASA exoplanet-hunting spacecraft
- Doctors thought he had cancer. An offhand suggestion led to a rare diagnosis.
- Figure out How to Keep up with Oral Wellbeing During Pregnancy
- Beating Scholastic Difficulties: Understudy Examples of overcoming adversity
- A photographer's journey to capture a blood moon rising over the South China Sea. 'It was an incredible moment'
- Choosing Moving Styles for Your Restroom Redesign
- Surging measles cases are 'fire alarm' warning that other diseases could be next
- Israel approves death penalty law for Palestinians convicted of attacks
