The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at the opening of a two-hour window, 8:14 p.m. PDT.

The United States' National Reconnaissance Office described the classified mission as "the second launch of NRO's proliferated architecture, delivering critical space-based ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] to the nation."

A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the booster landed on the droneship, Of Course I Still Love You, in the Pacific Ocean. It was the eighth launch and landing for this booster. Overall SpaceX has had 326th booster landings.

SpaceX ended its webcast after the Falcon 9 landing at the request of the NRO.

It was the 66th Falcon 9 mission of the year with 47 for SpaceX's Starlink broadband project in low Earth orbit.

The first Falcon 9 launch was 14 years ago -- pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The first NRA spy mission launch was May 22.

"NRO systems are designed, built and operated by the NRO. As a matter of national security we do not discuss the companies associated with the building of our systems, our contractual relationships with them, their specific activities, or the locations where NRO systems are built," NRO said in a statement to Spaceflight Now.

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