A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready for liftoff in March 2023 at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Another Falcon 9 rocket will launch as soon as Saturday morning from the base. (SpaceX photo)

For the second West Coast launch in a row, SpaceX won’t provide a livestream of the Falcon 9 rocket’s countdown and liftoff early Saturday morning from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Liftoff from Space Launch Complex-4 on South Base will aim for four-hour window opening at 12:10 a.m., according to SpaceX.

If needed, an additional launch opportunity is available the same day, with the four-hour launch window opening at 11:54 p.m. Saturday and continuing into Sunday morning.

This mission will use a first-stage booster making its maiden flight, according to SpaceX.

After finishing its job the first-stage booster, the lower two-thirds of the rocket, will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship positioned in the Pacific Ocean.

The rocket will carry a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office plus 20 Starlink satellites, according to SpaceX.

Dubbed NROL-126, it will be the fifth launch of NRO’s “proliferated architecture” or new method of involving launching multiple small satellites, instead of one large one.

Like last weekend’s Starlink mission, SpaceX didn’t provide the targeted launch time and instead provided a vague window for this weekend’s liftoff.

Additionally, for the second mission in a row SpaceX won’t provide a webcast of the countdown but hasn’t explained the reason why it won’t be available.

These abrupt changes in regarding launch times and a livestream apparently only affect Vandenberg launches, not Falcon 9 flights from Florida which have occurred in the past week with webcasts and specific launch times.

Officials remained mum about the reason for the changes. However, some have suggested the reason could be tied to some sort of national security matter.

The extra secrecy hampers viewing for would-be spectators and photographers eager to capture the departure.

A livestream for the Nov. 23 launch from Vandenberg started approximately a minute after the rocket departed the base. It’s not clear if SpaceX has similar plans for Saturday’s launch.

While details of the NRO payload remain top secret, SpaceX did say the Starlink satellite deployment will start approximately one hour after liftoff.

SpaceX reportedly has another launch from Vandenberg planned for next week.

Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.