Two German military satellites are launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

On Sunday morning (Dec. 24), a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying two radar reconnaissance satellites for the German military took off.

At 8:11 a.m. EST (1311 GMT; 5:11 a.m. local California time), the Falcon 9 rocket from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base launched the SARah-2 mission to low Earth orbit (LEO). The flight was postponed one day in order to allow for more preflight inspections. It was originally scheduled for Saturday, December 23.

For the German military, the SARah-2 mission launched two synthetic aperture radar (or “SAR” in “SARah-2) reconnaissance satellites into orbit.

“The satellites will continue the replacement process of the aging SAR-Lupe constellation,” EverydayAstronaut.com wrote in a mission description.

“SARah 2 and SARah 3 are two ‘reflector antenna’ satellites, meaning they will consequently fly in formation with SARah 1 to increase the resolution of the constellation,” the outlet added.

According to SpaceX, SARah-2 was the eighth launch of this specific Falcon 9’s first stage. After returning for a ninth landing, the booster landed at Vandenberg approximately eight minutes following launch.

It was planned for SARah 2 and SARah 3 to come into low-Earth orbit (LEO) from the upper stage of the Falcon 9 approximately twenty and twenty-five minutes after liftoff, respectively.

With Sunday’s launch, SpaceX’s busy 2023 continued. This year, the company has launched 94 orbital missions in addition to two unsuccessful test flights of its massive Starship rocket.

And before the calendar turns, there will be more SpaceX activity. For instance, on December 28, the X-37B spacecraft of the United States Space Force is expected to be launched into orbit by the company’s potent Falcon Heavy rocket.