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
Step by step instructions to Contrast Lab Precious stones and Normal Jewels - 2Home Mechanization Frameworks for Brilliant Residing
- 3Extremely Rare Snub-Nosed Monkey Was Just Born for the First Time Outside of Asia
- 4Barry Manilow to have surgery for early-stage lung cancer and postpones January concerts
- 5Flourishing in Retirement: Individual Accounts of Post-Vocation Satisfaction
- Miley Cyrus flashes a diamond ring on the red carpet, sparking engagement rumors with Maxx Morando: A timeline of their four-year relationship
- Scientists train to dive beneath polar ice as climate change warms the Arctic and Antarctica
- 25 Most Beautiful Villages in France You Can Actually Visit
- Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS reveals weird wobbling jets in rare sun-facing tail
- The Main 15 Powerful Business Heads of Today
- We may have one thing in common with jellyfish, new research finds
- Step by step instructions to Explore the Close to home Consequence of Cellular breakdown in the lungs
- 10 Moves toward Start Your Own Effective Business
- UK consumer confidence plunges amid escalating Iran conflict
