SpaceX schedules classified USSF-432 Falcon 9 launch

USSF-432 launch planned from Vandenberg

SpaceX is preparing to launch the classified USSF-432 mission on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The four-hour launch window is scheduled to open at 5:42 p.m. Pacific time on Nov. 2, with a backup opportunity on Nov. 3 beginning at 5:28 p.m. Pacific time.

The mission will use a Falcon 9 first-stage booster making its eighth flight. According to the launch information reported by Starlust, the booster previously flew on GPS III-8 and six Starlink missions. It is expected to land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship in the Pacific Ocean after stage separation. SpaceX’s official website and X account are expected to carry the webcast, which was set to begin about 10 minutes before liftoff.

Payload remains undisclosed

SpaceX has not disclosed details about the USSF-432 payload or the altitude at which it would be deployed. The limited disclosure means the reviewed reporting does not identify the mission’s payload or orbital altitude.

The launch follows the classified USSF-481 mission, which was launched from California on Oct. 16. SpaceX livestreamed that mission with only a short post-liftoff presentation, but the reviewed reporting did not establish the planned webcast length for USSF-432.

Mission tied to Space Force sensing campaign

Context reporting described USSF-432 as the sixth Space Force mission in a series of classified launches from Vandenberg connected with the Space Based Sensing and Targeting program. According to that account, earlier missions launched Starshield-bus satellites carrying government-furnished radar sensors for Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indication, a capability intended to detect and track moving airborne objects from low Earth orbit.

The same context reporting said Space Systems Command awarded SpaceX a $4.16 billion other transaction agreement for Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indication in May 2026. It also reported $1.6 billion in additional task orders under the NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 contract in July, covering 18 Falcon 9 national-security launches. These figures provide program context; they are not reported as cash received specifically for USSF-432.

Timing remains subject to launch readiness

USSF-432 appears in November launch calendars as a scheduled mission, not as a completed launch as of the knowledge snapshot on Nov. 2, 2026. Independent schedule listings described the mission as dated or at go-for-launch status while warning that launch times can change.

Separately, November listings included a Starlink mission from Vandenberg on Nov. 5, a defense mission tentatively listed for Nov. 9, and a tentative Cygnus NG-25 mission from Cape Canaveral on Nov. 29. Those entries were supporting schedule information and remained less firmly established than the announced USSF-432 launch plan.