SpaceX is launching the mysterious RRT-1 mission today after a delay

SpaceX plans to launch the mysterious RRT-1 mission from Florida’s Space Coast today (December 16) after strong winds thwarted an earlier attempt.

A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 7:51 p.m. EDT today (Dec. 16) (12:51 a.m. Dec. 17), launching a mission that SpaceX is calling RRT-1.

SpaceX had planned to launch RRT-1 on Friday (December 13), but canceled that attempt due to high winds. The company will livestream today’s launch via X approximately 10 minutes before launch.

Many space observers believe the RRT-1 mission will send an advanced GPS satellite into orbit – specifically, GPS 3-10, another member of the venerable navigation network’s third generation of spacecraft. SpaceX has a contract to launch three of these satellites for the US military and has already launched one of them in January 2023.

Related: SpaceX launches advanced GPS satellite for US Space Force and lands successfully

But SpaceX’s mission description says nothing about GPS satellites; It doesn’t even explain what RRT-1 stands for, if that name is actually an acronym. And the fairing that surrounds and protects the RRT-1 payload appears to feature no graphics or logos, a departure from the norm that adds to the intrigue.

If all goes according to plan on RRT-1, the Falcon 9 first stage will return to Earth about 8.5 minutes after liftoff and touch down on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. According to SpaceX’s mission description, it will be the fourth launch and landing of this particular launch vehicle.

The rocket’s upper stage, on the other hand, will launch the RRT-1 payload, whatever it may be, into orbit about 90 minutes after launch.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on December 13 at 8:55 p.m. ET with news of the launch call, then again on December 16 at 3:15 a.m. ET with news of the scheduled December 16 date.

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SpaceX is launching the mysterious RRT-1 mission today after a delay

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