Falcon 9 Rocket Carrying Canadian Satellites Launches Successfully From Vandenberg Air Force Base
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE (CBSLA) — Sonic booms may wake up people along the coasts in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties when SpaceX attempts to land a rocket that will carry three satellites Wednesday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Hawthorne-based SpaceX successfully launched the Falcon 9 rocket and its payload of satellites Wednesday promptly at 7:17 a.m.. SpaceX will try to recover the rocket with a landing back at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
If the launch proceeds as planned, it could create an impressive aerial show visible to most of Southern California. Depending on weather conditions in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, residents may also hear one or more sonic booms during the landing operations, according to base officials.
The three satellites are part of Canada's RADARSAT Constellation of Earth-observation satellites. The Canadian Space Agency says the satellites will gather data primarily for maritime surveillance, disaster management and ecosystem monitoring.