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Space

NGA Mission To Support World Magnetic Model Launches On SpaceX Rocket

By Cal Biesecker

Monday, March 30th, 2026

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NGA Mission To Support World Magnetic Model Launches On SpaceX Rocket

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifting off March 30, 2026, from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., with the Transporter-16 rideshare mission. Photo: SpaceX

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Monday lifted off with 119 payloads for low-Earth orbit (LEO), including three small satellites developed by competitors under the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s (NGA) MagQuest program to find new ways of collecting data on Earth’s magnetic field in support of the World Magnetic Model (WMM). The Transporter-16 rideshare mission launched at 4:02 PDT from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., and was the 12th flight for the first stage booster, which landed on SpaceX’s “Of Course…

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