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 mission for the company in a six-day span.
On November 11, SpaceX launched a classified mission for the U.S. Space Force from California, marking the second such flight for the company in a six-day period. The Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 11:36 p.m. EST (8:36 p.m. local California time; 0136 GMT on November 12). This launch was part of the USSF-627 mission, following a similar liftoff just over a week earlier on November 6, when the USSF-432 mission was carried out.
Vandenberg Space Force Base, located on California's central coast, hosted both launches. The specifics of the USSF-627 and USSF-432 missions remain classified. However, some experts speculate that each mission may have deployed a batch of SpaceX's Starshield satellites, contributing to the Space Force's Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio for tracking potential targets globally.
SpaceX did not disclose details about these missions, ending the webcast shortly after the first stages returned to Earth via the SpaceX drone ship Of Course I Still Love You. This ship is stationed in the Pacific Ocean, downrange of Vandenberg. The Falcon 9 booster used, designated 1103, has completed seven missions so far, including three Starlink missions.
This is the 15th national-security flight for the booster in 2026, with 85 of the 120 launches this year dedicated to SpaceX's Starlink broadband constellation. Starlink currently hosts over 11,000 satellites in low Earth orbit.
Written by urgent.news from Space.com's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
