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
How did life begin on Earth? New experiments support 'RNA world' hypothesis - 2Sea level doesn’t rise at the same rate everywhere – we mapped where Antarctica’s ice melt would have the biggest impact
- 3People are getting their news from AI – and it’s altering their views
- 4Doomed SpaceX Starlink satellite photographed from orbit
- 5The Rhythms of the Street: Shipping's Tune in the Economy's Symphony
- Idris Elba is the king of the stress-watch
- 5 Indoor Plants That Further develop Air Quality
- The Way to Business: Startup Illustrations Learned
- Tens of thousands protest as far-right AfD forms new youth group
- Mystery foot suggests a second early human relative lived alongside Lucy
- Uncover the Manageable Fish Practices: Sea agreeable Feasting
- Revealing the Incomparable Realms: An Excursion through Power and Inheritance
- Instructions to Utilize the Towing Highlights of the Slam 1500 Productively.
- Report: Russian military pressuring students to work as drone pilots
