SpaceX - Falcon 9 - Transporter 16 - SLC-4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA - March 30, 2026

Launch Date: March 30, 2025 Launch Time: 4:02 a.m. PDT, 1102 UTC, 13:02 CEST Launch Window: Open until 4:16 a.m. PDT Launch Site: SLC-4E - Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, USA Targeted Orbit: Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) Launch Inclination: South Launch Status: Nominal Orbit Insertion, 2nd stage landed successfully on the droneship, all payloads have been deployed successfully. Mission: Transporter 16 Launch Provider: SpaceX Launcher System: Falcon 9 (Booster B-1093) Flight for the Booster: 12 Previous Flights of the Booster: 11 - SDA T1TL-B, SDA T1TL-C, and nine Starlink missions Booster Landing: Droneship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) Price: $69,75 million (without payload) Diameter: 3,7 m Height: 70 m Payload to Orbit: 22,800 LEO / 8,300 GTO Lift-Off Thrust: 7,607 kilonewtons Fairing: Diameter 5,2 meters / Height 13 meters Stages: 2 SpaceX targets March 29, 2026, a Falcon 9 launch for the Transporter 16 rideshare mission to a sun-synchronous orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Transporter-16 is a dedicated smallsat rideshare mission. There are 119 payloads on this flight, including cubesats, microsats, hosted payloads, a reentry vehicle, and orbital transfer vehicles carrying eight of those payloads to be deployed at a later time. To date, SpaceX has launched more than 1,600 payloads to orbit across our entire Rideshare program. Following stage separation, Falcon 9 will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean. There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions. Countdown Hr/Min/Sec Event 00:38:00 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load 00:35:00 RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins 00:35:00 1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins 00:16:00 2nd stage LOX loading begins 00:07:00 Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch 00:01:00 Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks 00:01:00 Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins 00:00:45 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch 00:00:03 Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start 00:00:00 Falcon 9 liftoff Launch, Landing, and Deployment All Times Approximate Hr/Min/Sec Event 00:01:07 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket) 00:02:27 1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO) 00:02:30 1st and 2nd stages separate 00:02:38 2nd stage engine starts (SES-1) 00:03:07 Fairing separation 00:06:17 1st stage entry burn begins 00:06:41 1st stage entry burn ends 00:08:09 1st stage landing burn begins 00:08:19 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1) 00:08:33 1st stage landing 00:51:40 2nd stage engine starts (SES-2) 00:51:44 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2) 00:55:05 Rideshare deployment sequence begins