SpaceX launches 2nd mystery mission for US Space Force in 6-day span (photos)

SpaceX launches 2nd mystery mission for US Space Force in 6-day span (photos) SpaceX launched a classified mission for the U.S. Space Force from California tonight (Nov. 11), the second such flight for the company in a six-day span. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base tonight at 11:36 p.m. EST (8:36 p.m. local California time; 0136 GMT on Nov. 12), kicking off a mission called USSF-627. Vandenberg hosted a similar liftoff less than a week ago: On Nov. 6, a Falcon 9 sent the USSF-432 mission skyward from the site, which lies on California's gorgeous but often foggy central coast. We don't know much about USSF-627 or USSF-432; both are classified. Some experts have speculated, however, that each mission launched a batch of SpaceX's Starshield satellites for the Space Force's Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, which helps the military branch track potential targets around the world. SpaceX didn't reveal details about either USSF-627 or USSF-432, and the company ended the webcast of both launches shortly after the first stages of their Falcon 9 rockets came back to Earth. In both cases, that touchdown occurred about 8.5 minutes after liftoff on the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You," which was stationed downrange of Vandenberg in the Pacific Ocean. It was the seventh mission for USSF-627's Falcon 9 booster, which carries the designation 1103. NROL-179 | SDA-T1TL-E | SDA-T1TL-A | 3 Starlink missions USSF-627 was the 120th Falcon 9 launch of 2026 and the rocket's 15th national-security flight of the year to date. Eighty-five of the 120 flights have been devoted to building out SpaceX's Starlink broadband constellation in low Earth orbit, which currently consists of more than 11,000 satellites. The Falcon 9 is not on a record-breaking cadence this year. In 2025, the rocket flew a whopping 165 missions, and 122 of them were Starlink flights. Michael Wall is the Spaceflight and Tech Editor for Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers human and robotic spaceflight, military space, and exoplanets, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. [Image text:] SPEED 12 KM/H ALTITUDE 0.1 KM LIFTOFF O STARTUP MAXQ T+00:00:03 USSF-627 STAGE SEP FAIRING G-FORCE G