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Secret, but not so secret: SpaceX set to launch military satellite from Central Coast

A military satellite set for launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base Thursday morning.
SpaceX
A military satellite set for launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base Thursday morning.

Department of Defense payload is military weather satellite.

You might experience some interesting sights and sounds Thursday morning.

SpaceX is set to launch a military satellite from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Depending on cloud cover, the 7:25 a.m. launch could be visible throughout much of the Tri-Counties. The reusable first stage booster is set to land back at the base, so there could be sonic booms heard in the region.

Few details are being released about the Department of Defense mission. The satellite is intended to improve the military’s weather tracking, and forecast abilities.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.