U.S. missile-defense satellites headed for low-Earth orbit

Feb. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. military partnered with SpaceX to launch a half dozen missile-defense satellites into orbit Wednesday in an effort to protect the United States against hypersonic missile attacks.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying a payload intended to bolster national missile defense.

The launch for the Missile Defense Agency and the Space Development Agency put six satellites into low-Earth orbit. Two of those satellites are for the MDA's hypersonic and ballistic tracking space sensor satellite program.

"This launch represents a pivotal time for MDA as we enter a new phase of missile warning, tracking and defense," MDA Director Heath Collins said in a statement. "These HBTSS satellites are an essential step forward in our efforts to stay ahead of our adversaries."

The other four satellites carried by the SpaceX Falcon 9 are SDA Tranche 0 tracking layer satellites, which are part of the SDA's proliferated warfighter space architecture program.

"Launching our tracking satellites into the same orbit with the MDA HBTSS satellites is a win for both agencies," SDA Director Derek Tournear said in a statement. "We'll be able to look at test targets from the same obit at the same time, so we can see how the two sensors work together."

The U.S. Department of Defense says the HBTSS satellites can detect hypersonic missiles launched from land, sea and air and track them from one satellite sensor to another.

The United States doesn't have any operational hypersonic missiles or aircraft capable of flying at very high speeds exceeding 3,000 mph, or Mach 5, according to NASA.

China in 2023 launched a hypersonic missile that exceeded 15,000 mph while circling the globe, and China and Russia are far ahead of the United States in developing hypersonic technology, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Falcon 9's first stage returned to make a vertical touchdown at Cape Canaveral 8 minutes after the liftoff of the USSF-124 mission, which is the 272nd time the rocket's first stage successfully returned to Earth, Space.com reported.

The early evening launch from Florida was the first of three planned by SpaceX on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.

SpaceX also scheduled a 7:30 p.m. EST launch from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base to send 22 Starlink internet satellites into orbit.

SpaceX also intends a 1:05 a.m. EST launch of an IM-1private mission to the moon. That launch would be from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, which is adjacent to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.