--- title: "Space Force sets a record for quickly sending a new satellite to space" description: "The agency sent a rocket and satellite into space just 27 hours after receiving the order, the fastest Space Force has carried out a launch." date: "2023-09-16" modified: "2023-09-16" authors: - name: "Nicholas Slayton" job_title: "Contributing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/nicholas-slayton.md" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/space-force-saetellite-launch-recor/" categories: - "Military Branches" - "News" - "Space Force" - "Tech & Tactics" --- # Space Force sets a record for quickly sending a new satellite to space ![]() *Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket takes off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sept. 14, 2023. (Photo courtesy Firefly Aerospace)* The U.S. Space Force successfully quickly sent a new satellite into space Thursday night, proving its ability to rapidly adapt in the case of an emergency. It also left many people throughout Southern California wondering just what was happening in the sky. As the rocket took off from Santa Barbara County, people along the coast in Los Angeles and San Diego reported seeing a “[strange light]()” as the spacecraft burst through the atmosphere, a large smoke cloud billowing after it. The rocket’s trail was visible throughout much of Southern California, with some Marines [spotting it]() from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton near San Diego, more than 200 miles away from the launch site. But no, it was not aliens in an unidentified flying object. It was just Space Force. Space Force sent the rocket into space as part of its Victus Nox mission. The mission was a test of its “Tactically Responsive Space” or TacRS capabilities, essentially to see just how quickly the service can send a satellite into orbit should the need arise. This mission was not only a success but the launch set a new record: the rocket took off just 27 hours after receiving the order. [**Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today**]()**. Get the latest military news and culture in your inbox daily.** “The success of VICTU\[S\] NOX marks a culture shift in our nation’s ability to deter adversary aggression and, when required, respond with the operational speed necessary to deliver decisive capabilities to our warfighters,” Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, commander of Space Systems Command, said in a [statement](). “This exercise is part of an end-to-end Tactically Responsive Space demonstration which proves the United States Space Force can rapidly integrate capabilities and will respond to aggression when called to do so on tactically relevant timelines.” The mission used an Alpha rocket from Firefly Aerospace, carrying a satellite made by Millennium Space Systems. The rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The Victus Nox mission, like other earlier tests to see how quickly rockets could be launched, was overseen by Space Force’s Space Systems Command. In August, Firefly Aerospace and Millennium Space Systems were put on “hot standby,” being told to be ready to move all required pieces to Vandenberg to be ready for a launch. Parameters said that they would have 60 hours to do so once the alert was given; the rocket was made launch-ready in 58 hours. Earlier this year in April, SpaceX rockets [carried]() several Space Force satellites into orbit, part of the service’s attempts to build out a network of communications and tracking satellites in space. ## The latest on Task & Purpose - **Boot camp obstacle course was no problem for** [**4-foot-7-inch Marine**]() - **Army’s** [**pre-boot boot camp**]() **to become permanent** - [**Navy commander fired for**]() **“loss of confidence”** - **Marine vet charged with** [**false Purple Heart claim**]()**, benefits fraud** - **Three Navy SEAL commanders face charges in** [**Hell Week death**]() ## Author Nicholas Slayton is a contributing editor for Task & Purpose, covering conflict for over 12 years, from the Arab Spring to the war in Ukraine. His previous reporting can be found on the non-profit Aslan Media, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, The New Republic, The American Prospect, Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, and the Los Angeles Downtown News. You can reach him at nicholas@taskandpurpose.com or find him on Twitter @NSlayton and Bluesky at @nslayton.bsky.social. ### Author social links [Twitter]() ## More - [Space Force’s development agency just put several new satellites into orbit]() - [Airman reenlists as SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasts into space]() - [Space Force cancels classified military communications satellite project]() - [Meet the first and only Air Force pilot to shoot down a satellite]() - [Space Force to deploy new jammers to yell at enemy satellites]() - [Space Force’s secretive space plane is back on Earth after a record 908 days in orbit]() - [Protecting GPS is the Space Force’s most important job, according to their new commercial]() - [Space Force fitness contest combines sandbag tossing, satellite tracking]()