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SpaceXFalcon 9 Block 5Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
425 Project Flight 1 & rideshare
Launched
December 1, 2023 · 18:19 UTC
Summary
425 Project Flight 1 & rideshare launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA on December 1, 2023 at 18:19 UTC. The launch window ran from 18:04 to 19:18 UTC. It was SpaceX's 303rd launch, 90th this year and humanity's 6,562nd orbital launch attempt. It was the 222nd Falcon 9 Block 5 flight and the 84th this year. Booster B1061 flew for the 17th time and landed at Landing Zone 4. The payload was bound for Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO). GNOMES-4, one of 18 catalogued objects, reached a 561 × 577 km orbit inclined 97.6°. 18 objects from this launch are catalogued, all of them payloads.
- Watch
- SpaceX 425 Project Flight 1 & rideshareThe Space Devs
- SpaceX launches South Korean spy satellite and more, lands in CaliforniaVideoFromSpace
- Ad Astra: Launch of EIRSAT-1European Space Agency, ESA
- Vehicle
- Falcon 9 Block 5 · SpaceX
- Booster
- B1061 · flight 17 · Return to Launch Site at Landing Zone 4 · landed35/35 landed here · 41 days after its previous flight, Starlink Group 7-5
- Mission
- Government/Top Secret · Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO)
- Milestone
- 222nd Falcon 9 Block 5 flight · 84th this yearSpaceX's 303rd launch90th this yearhumanity's 6,562nd orbital launch attempt194th orbital launch attempt this year
Webcast
Flight preview
Simulate in Flight ClubOrbit: as tracked
GNOMES-4 · NORAD 58462 · 2023-185 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 18 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- TBA - TO BE ASSIGNED
- Object ID
- 2023-185A
- Epoch
- 2023-12-01 21:24:06 UTC
- Mean motion
- 15.01581509 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0011371
- Inclination
- 97.6459°
- Ascending node
- 40.6839°
- Arg. of perigee
- 245.3691°
- Mean anomaly
- 205.9455°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 1
- B*
- 0
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: SSO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile. Booster return drawn from padside's representative arc.
Catalogued objects
18 catalogued: 18 payloads; 10 still in orbit
- GNOMES-4 · NORAD 58462 · in orbit
- Korsat-7 · NORAD 58463 · in orbit
- KOYOH · NORAD 58464 · in orbit
- Bane · NORAD 58465 · re-entered June 14, 2026
- uHETsat · NORAD 58466 · in orbit
- Lilium 1 · NORAD 58467 · re-entered June 1, 2026
- SpIRIT · NORAD 58468 · in orbit
- ION SCV015 DARING DIEGO · NORAD 58469 · in orbit
- ENSO · NORAD 58470 · re-entered November 9, 2025
- Hayasat-1 · NORAD 58471 · re-entered April 28, 2025
- EIRSAT-1 · NORAD 58472 · re-entered September 4, 2025
- ALISIO-1 · NORAD 58562 · in orbit
Show 6 more payloads
- Unicorn-2N · NORAD 58642 · re-entered December 25, 2024
- MDQubesat-2 · NORAD 58665 · re-entered June 4, 2026
- Unicorn-2M · NORAD 58726 · re-entered February 27, 2026
- Unicorn-2L · NORAD 58727 · in orbit
- NanoFF B · NORAD 58755 · in orbit
- NanoFF A · NORAD 58810 · in orbit
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
Note: Name of payload is provisional. First launch of an ultimately 5 reconnaissance satellites for the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), with 1 satellite featuring an electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) telescope. The other 4 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites are to be launched at a later date. They will be launched to low Earth orbit between 600 and 700 km by 2025, enabling South Korea’s military to observe the nuclear-armed neighbor’s key military facilities every two hours with 30-50 centimeters resolution imagery, according to a 2019 report produced by the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning. The project is lead by the Korean Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), with input from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Hanwha Systems and Thales Alenia Space. ESA's EIRSAT-1 is also onboard as a rideshare passenger. This 2U cubesat carries three experiments, including a novel gamma ray detector to study some of the most luminous explosions in the universe.
Pad
Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
126th launch from Space Launch Complex 4E, 26th this year · 736th from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Local pad time at liftoff: Dec 1, 10:19 AM PST, in daylight
303 launches from this pad · 919 from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
11 days after the previous launch from this pad
Updates
Launch success.
Show 8 earlier updates
Liftoff
Nosu · 12/1/2023 · source
Livestream has started
LL2 · 12/1/2023 · source
Adjusting T-0 and setting GO
SwGustav · 11/30/2023 · source
Adjusting T-0
Nosu · 11/29/2023 · source
Delayed to December 1
Nosu · 11/28/2023 · source
Updated launch window.
Cosmic_Penguin · 11/24/2023 · source
Adding approximate launch time
Nosu · 11/24/2023 · source
Added launch (payload details at https://spacenews.com/south-korea-hires-spacex-to-launch-five-spy-satellites-by-2025/).
Cosmic_Penguin · 11/3/2023 · source
Questions
When did 425 Project Flight 1 & rideshare launch?
425 Project Flight 1 & rideshare launched on December 1, 2023 at 18:19 UTC. The launch window ran from 18:04 to 19:18 UTC.
Where can I watch 425 Project Flight 1 & rideshare?
Coverage: SpaceX 425 Project Flight 1 & rideshare; SpaceX launches South Korean spy satellite and more, lands in California; Ad Astra: Launch of EIRSAT-1. Watch the replay
What rocket launched 425 Project Flight 1 & rideshare?
Falcon 9 Block 5, flown by SpaceX. Falcon 9 Block 5 spec sheet
Where did 425 Project Flight 1 & rideshare launch from?
Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA. Liftoff was Dec 1, 10:19 AM PST local time at the pad.
Did the booster land?
Booster B1061 flew for the 17th time and landed at Landing Zone 4.
What orbit did 425 Project Flight 1 & rideshare reach?
GNOMES-4, one of 18 catalogued objects, reached a 561 × 577 km orbit inclined 97.6°.
How many satellites did 425 Project Flight 1 & rideshare launch?
18 payloads from this launch are catalogued, 10 of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).