SpaceX on Wednesday launched 21 satellites from California for the U.S. military's Space Development Agency.

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 4:06 p.m. PDT from Vandenberg Space Force Base's Pad 4E. About 8 1/2 minutes later, the first stage landed on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. This booster was used seven times previously, including the first Tranche 1 Transport launch on Sept. 10 with 21 satellites.

The satellites are part of the SDA's Tranche 1 Transport Layer of eventually 126 orbitals in low-Earth orbit that "will provide global communications access and deliver persistent regional encrypted connectivity in support of warfighter missions around the globe," according to SDA.

The network will use high-speed optical and radio frequency links on boa

See Full Page