SpaceX just launched a classified mission for the U.S. military.
A __Falcon 9__ rocket lifted off from California's __Vandenberg Space Force Base__ this evening (Nov. 6) at 7:48 p.m. EST (4:48 p.m. local California time; 0048 GMT on Nov. 7), rising into the sky as the sun sank toward the Pacific.
The launch kicked off the USSF-432 mission for the __U.S. Space Force__, which we know little about. Neither __SpaceX__ nor the Space Force told us much about USSF-432 beforehand, and we learned tonight; SpaceX cut its webcast off about 10 minutes into the flight, shortly after the Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth for a landing.
That touchdown occurred aboard the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You," which was stationed downrange in the Pacific Ocean. It wrapped up the eighth flight for this particular booster, which is designated 1095.
The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, continued carrying its mystery payload skyward. It could be headed to __low Earth orbit__, outside observers speculate.