SpaceX launched a classified mission for the U.S. military. UNN reports this, citing Space.com.
Details
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, United States, on November 6 at 7:48 p.m. local time (2:48 a.m. on November 7 Kyiv time), rising into the sky against the backdrop of sunset over the Pacific Ocean.
The launch began the USSF-432 mission for the U.S. Space Force, about which little is known. Neither SpaceX nor the U.S. Space Force had disclosed much information about USSF-432 in advance, and it became known only on the evening before launch; SpaceX ended the broadcast approximately 10 minutes after liftoff, shortly after the Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth for landing.
The landing was carried out on SpaceX's floating drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean. It was the eighth flight for this particular booster, designated 1095.
Meanwhile, the Falcon 9's upper stage continued carrying its mysterious payload into the sky. According to outside observers, it may be heading for low Earth orbit.
"It may be a batch of classified low-orbit satellites for the U.S. Space Force's Space-Based Sensing and Targeting (SBST) space systems portfolio, built on SpaceX's Starshield satellite platform, judging by the fact that the rocket stage drop zones precisely match those of previous Starlink Group 15 launches," the mission description on NextSpaceflight.com states.
Starlink is SpaceX's megaconstellation of low-orbit satellites, consisting of more than 11,000 operational satellites. Starshield is a similar system designed to provide services to the U.S. military and its allies. Starshield satellites are believed to be largely based on the Starlink spacecraft platform.
How many launches SpaceX has conducted this year
USSF-432 became the 119th Falcon 9 launch in 2026 and the 14th flight of a rocket for national security purposes this year. The vast majority of Falcon 9 missions in 2026 — more than 70% — have been devoted to building the Starlink megaconstellation.
SpaceX also launched six other missions this year. Three of them were operational flights of the Falcon Heavy rocket, while the other three were test missions of the next-generation Starship rocket. SpaceX plans to retire both the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy shortly after the fully reusable Starship rocket, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, is launched and begins operations.