SpaceX launched a classified U.S. Space Force mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on November 11 at 8:36 p.m. local time. The Falcon 9 rocket carried the USSF-627 payload into orbit, marking the second such classified flight from the site in six days. A similar launch, USSF-432, lifted off from Vandenberg on November 6.
Neither mission's payload details were disclosed. Some experts have speculated that both missions deployed batches of SpaceX's Starshield satellites for the Space Force's Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, which tracks potential targets globally. SpaceX cut both webcasts shortly after the first stages returned to Earth.
The Falcon 9 first stage for USSF-627, designated Booster 1103, landed on the droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" about 8.5 minutes after liftoff. This marked the seventh flight for that booster, which has previously launched NROL-179, SDA-T1TL-E, SDA-T1TL-A, and three Starlink missions.
USSF-627 was the 120th Falcon 9 launch of 2026 and the rocket's 15th national-security flight this year. Eighty-five of the 120 flights have deployed Starlink satellites to build out the constellation, which now totals more than 11,000 active satellites in low Earth orbit.