APRIL 12, 2024 – A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was successfully launched April 11 from Space Launch Complex-4 East carrying U.S. Space Force’s Weather System Follow-on Microwave, or WSF-M, into low Earth orbit.
The launch is the result of a combined effort by the Guardians and Airmen of Space Launch Delta 30 and Space Systems Command in Los Angeles in support of the U.S. Space Force and SSC’s program executive office, Assured Access to Space, as well as SpaceX personnel.
“The launch of the WSF-M satellite represents a significant step forward in our mission to enhance our nation’s space capabilities,” said Col. Mark Shoemaker, Space Launch Delta 30 commander. “Our dedicated Guardians and Airmen at Vandenberg ensure assured access to space, standing ready to support critical national security space launches when our nation calls.”
Once on orbit, the WSF-M satellite will provide U.S. and allied warfighters with essential weather data, including the measurement of ocean surface wind speed and direction, ice thickness, snow depth, soil moisture, and local spacecraft energetic charged particle environment.
The data gathered by WSF-M will be provided to meteorologists in support of the generation of a wide variety of weather products necessary to conduct mission planning and operations globally.
Vandenberg Space Force Base is the U.S. Space Force’s west coast spaceport and test range. Vandenberg SFB is one of two high-capacity spaceports for the United States, providing strategic space access capabilities that deliver on-orbit systems for global space operations. Guardians and Airmen have enabled more than 2,060 launches from the Vandenberg SFB spaceport to date.
Space Launch Delta 30 Public Affairs