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 Upgrade the Security Elements of Your Kona SUV - 2The most effective method to Boost Eco-friendliness in Your Volvo XC40
- 3Hitler's madcap mega-railway would have linked Berlin with India
- 4How HIV/AIDS got its name − the words Americans used for the crisis were steeped in science, stigma and religious language
- 5Criminal Guard Lawyer Expenses: What Would it be advisable for you to Hope to Pay?
- Astronomers now say the moon is eating up molecules from Earth’s atmosphere
- Deadly heat worldwide prompts $300 million for climate health research at COP30
- Russian military plane crashes in annexed Crimea, killing 29 people on board
- The best overlooked performances of 2025
- Weight-loss pill approval set to accelerate food industry product overhauls
- Kiev declares energy emergency after Russian attacks amid winter cold
- Israel faces widespread condemnation as NGO ban comes into effect
- What really happens when 140 reality stars come face to face with their biggest fans
- Benin coup thwarted by loyalist troops, president tells nation
