SpaceX launches second classified US Space Force mission in a week
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California carrying a secret payload for the US Space Force, the second such mission in six days.
SpaceX launched a classified mission for the U.S. Space Force from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 11 at 11:36 p.m. EST. The mission, designated USSF-627, followed a similar classified launch, USSF-432, that took off from the same site on Nov. 6.
Details of both missions remain undisclosed. Some analysts have speculated that each launch carried a batch of SpaceX's Starshield satellites for the Space Force's Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, which is designed to help the military track potential targets worldwide. SpaceX ended its webcast of both launches shortly after the Falcon 9 first stages landed on the droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean.
The Falcon 9 booster used for USSF-627, designated 1103, completed its seventh mission. The launch was the 120th Falcon 9 flight of 2026 and the 15th national-security mission for the rocket this year. Of the 120 total launches, 85 were dedicated to deploying Starlink satellites, which now number more than 11,000 in low Earth orbit. In 2025, the Falcon 9 flew 165 missions, 122 of which were Starlink flights.
Source: Space.com