World News Update: SpaceX set to launch USSF-481 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California; shooter targets Oregon elementary school

Launch: Falcon 9 USSF-481 (before liftoff)

Rocket

SpaceX Falcon 9 / USSF-481 (U.S. Space Force)

Launch site

Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E), Vandenberg Space Force Base, California

Time (CT)

Four-hour window opens at 6:57 p.m. CT Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026 (4:57 p.m. PT), per SpaceX. Launch Library 2 T-0: 7:01:05 p.m. CT (00:01:05 UTC Friday). Backup opportunity: Friday, Oct. 16 at 4:35 p.m. PT (6:35 p.m. CT).

Result

Not yet launched. Status: Go for Launch (Launch Library 2). We will post an after-liftoff update once SpaceX confirms liftoff and the booster landing.

Cargo

Classified national-security payload; details not released

Booster

28th flight for this first stage (SpaceX; Launch Library 2 identifies it as B1081). Previous missions include Crew-7, CRS-29, PACE, Transporter-10, EarthCARE, NROL-186, TRACERS, USSF-153 and 16 Starlink missions. Planned landing on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship in the Pacific Ocean.

Our view Another step toward Mars: flying one booster for the 28th time and landing it again at sea is the kind of routine reuse SpaceX is counting on to make rockets that carry people to Mars affordable.

A live webcast begins about 10 minutes before liftoff on SpaceX's website and on X (@SpaceX). SpaceX says residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms, depending on weather.

World news since the 5 PM update

• Police: multiple people, including children, targeted by shooter at Bend, Oregon, elementary school Police in Bend, Oregon, responded at 1:02 p.m. local time Thursday to multiple calls about an active shooter at Silver Rail Elementary School, the Washington Examiner reported, citing a Bend Police Department briefing. Authorities have not released the number of victims; at least two people were hospitalized. The suspect was found dead inside the school, and how the suspect died has not been confirmed. FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI's Portland office is following closely and will make every resource available. (Washington Examiner, New York Post)
• Navy confirms a sailor was found dead while deployed in the Middle East The U.S. Navy confirmed Thursday that a sailor was found dead on Sept. 14 while deployed in U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility, the Washington Examiner reported. The Navy has not released the sailor's name or what happened, saying the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating with local authorities. (Washington Examiner)
• White House invokes executive privilege in Kennedy Center lawsuit President Trump invoked presidential communications privilege Thursday in the lawsuit brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) over the Kennedy Center, according to a court declaration by White House associate counsel Josh Hoyt, the Washington Examiner reported. Justice Department lawyers asked the court to deny Beatty's motion to compel those communications, calling it a "fishing expedition." (Washington Examiner)

Earlier: the 5 PM Evening Update