A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch two radar reconnaissance satellites for the German military early on Saturday morning, December 23. A Falcon 9 rocket launched the SARah-2 mission into low Earth orbit (LEO) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Saturday at 8:11 a.m. ET (13:11 GMT; 13:11 GMT; 5:11 p.m.). local California time in the morning).

You can watch live on the SpaceX account on X (formerly Twitter). Coverage will begin approximately 15 minutes before the launch window opens. The SARah-2 mission will launch two synthetic aperture reconnaissance satellites (“SAR” in “SARah-2”) for the German military.

“The satellites will continue the process of replacing the aging SAR-Lupe constellation,” EverydayAstronaut.com wrote in its mission description. “SARah 2 and SARah 3 are two ‘reflective antenna’ satellites, which means they will fly alongside SARah 1 to increase the resolution of the constellation,” the publication adds.

According to SpaceX, SARah-2 will be the eighth launch of the Falcon 9 first stage. If all goes as planned, the launch vehicle will also make its eighth descent, landing at Vandenberg approximately eight minutes after launch. Meanwhile, SARah 2 and SARah 3 will deploy to LEO from the Falcon 9 upper assembly approximately 20 minutes and 25 minutes after liftoff, respectively.

Saturday’s launch continues what has been a busy 2023 for SpaceX. The company launched more than 90 orbital missions this year, as well as two test flights of its giant Starship rocket, but these flights failed to reach orbit. And there will be more SpaceX action before the schedule changes. For example, the company’s powerful Falcon Heavy rocket plans to launch the US Space Force’s X-37B spaceplane into orbit on December 28.