SAOCOM 1B

Cape Canaveral's geometry normally rules out polar orbits: a southward trajectory over Florida would overfly populated coastline before reaching open water. On 30 August 2020, a Falcon 9 departed SLC-40 on a trajectory that curved sharply west, skirting the Florida coast and crossing Cuba, to enter a sun-synchronous orbit. It was the first polar-corridor launch from the Cape since ESSA-9 lifted off on a Delta rocket in February 1969 — a gap of more than 51 years.

The primary payload was SAOCOM 1B, a 3,050 kg Argentine Earth observation satellite carrying L-band synthetic-aperture radar for soil moisture monitoring and emergency response. Two rideshare satellites, GNOMES 1 and Tyvak-0172, followed it to orbit. Booster B1059, on its fourth flight, landed at Landing Zone 1 a few kilometers from the pad.