SpaceX is preparing for its second secret mission for the U.S. Space Force in just under a week. A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, with the launch window opening at 9 p.m. Eastern Time (6 p.m. local time; 0100 GMT on September 16) and lasting for four hours. This mission, designated USSF-259, is expected to follow a similar pattern to the previous classified launch, USSF-153, which took place on September 10 from the same location. These missions are part of a growing trend of secretive space operations, often involving payloads and purposes not disclosed to the public. The launch will be streamed live on SpaceX’s website, with the webcast starting about 10 minutes before liftoff. The broadcast will conclude shortly after the Falcon 9’s first stage returns to Earth for a landing on a drone ship approximately 8.5 minutes after launch. This will be the 13th landing for the booster, designated 1097. In April, this particular rocket made history by completing SpaceX’s 600th landing of an orbital-class rocket during a mission that deployed 25 Starlink satellites, which are part of a global broadband internet project. The Falcon 9 booster 1097 has previously supported a variety of missions, including the deployment of the Sentinel-6B satellite, the Twilight mission, NROL-172, Transporter-17, and eight Starlink missions. This upcoming launch will mark SpaceX’s 110th mission of 2026, with 105 of those being Falcon 9 launches. In addition to Falcon 9, SpaceX has conducted two Falcon Heavy launches and two Starship launches in 2026. Both Starship launches have been suborbital test flights, meaning the rocket did not reach orbit. The next Starship launch is expected to occur within the next two weeks and will be the first time the vehicle attempts an orbital flight. Starship is designed to be a fully reusable spacecraft capable of carrying humans and cargo to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. This upcoming flight represents a significant milestone in SpaceX’s long-term goals of enabling interplanetary travel.