Two next-generation Earth observation satellites were successfully launched by SpaceX at 11:36 a.m. PT from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The first two of six spacecraft that Maxar Technologies is now planning to replace older observation satellites with are these two. When the Falcon 9 second stage returned to a ground station, SpaceX confirmed that they had been launched into a Sun-synchronous orbit between 13 and 16 minutes following liftoff.

As Maxar continues to replace earlier generation satellites, SpaceX will also launch the next four satellites in the upcoming months. Starting from Florida, the four will fly. Maxar now has greater global coverage and access to a variety of orbit types thanks to these two launch sites.

With Booster 1061, the Falcon 9 that carried out this mission’s launch, SpaceX achieved its 20th launch. B1061’s lightweight cargo allowed it to execute a boost backburn, landing just a few hundred feet from the launch pad at Landing Zone 4.

Booster 1061 has successfully launched eight humans (Crews 1 and 2), two communications missions, two Transporter rideshare trips, an Israeli ISI EROS C-3 recon satellite, the Korea 425 recon satellite, an ISS replenishment mission, and nine Starlink missions.

The “stubby nozzle,” which SpaceX occasionally employs when it doesn’t require the complete performance of a full-sized vacuum nozzle, was also featured on the second stage.

As is increasingly customary, SpaceX also used flight-proven fairings, with one of the two parts making its sixteenth flight. Because the payloads on this mission have extremely sensitive optics, it is quite astonishing that SpaceX is now able to rebuild these fairings and make sure the payloads they shield from contamination during atmospheric flight.