SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer D

Falcon 9 Block 5 · SpaceX

NET December 2026

Mission brief

What is happening

SpaceX is launching SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer D on a Falcon 9 Block 5 from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA. It is a classified government mission heading to Polar Orbit.

Why it matters

Details of classified national security payloads are withheld, so the mission profile is usually only partly published and coverage often ends early.

What stands out
Classified payload
At a glance
Destination
Polar Orbit
Payload
SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer D
Mission type
Government/Top Secret
Rocket
Falcon 9 Block 5
Provider
SpaceX
Launch site
Space Launch Complex 4E

Tranche 1 Tracking Layer D is one of five missions by the United States Space Force Space Development Agency (SDA) for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Tranche 1 Tracking Layer constellation, which will provide global indications, warning, tracking, and targeting of advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems.

What changed

Every change to this schedule, logged as it happened. Most trackers only ever show you today's date.

  1. OCT 25 · 4:56 AM UTC
    Launch vehicle swap with SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer E.
    Launch Library note·Source
  2. SEP 15, 2025 · 11:25 AM UTC
    NET 2026.
    Launch Library note·Source
  3. JUN 9, 2023 · 2:08 PM UTC
    Adding launch
    Launch Library note·Source

RocketRune has been tracking this launch since it entered the schedule.

Schedule confidence

LOW

Treat this date as provisional.

Why does RocketRune rate it this way?
  • Only a target quarter has been announced.
  • The provider has not committed to this date.
  • No schedule changes recorded since RocketRune began tracking this launch.

This is a RocketRune assessment of how firm the published schedule is, not a prediction of launch success. It is calculated from the date precision and status published by the launch provider, plus the schedule changes RocketRune has recorded for this mission.

Launch site
Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Vehicle
Falcon 9 Block 5
Provider
SpaceX
Orbit
PO
Payload
SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer D
Status
To Be Determined
Vehicle height
70 m
Liftoff thrust
7,607 kN
Vehicle type flights
643
Vehicle type success rate
99.7%

Can you see this launch from where you are?

RocketRune works out the direction to look, how high the rocket will sit in your sky, the cloud forecast over you and whether the plume will be lit, then scores it out of 100.

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