SpaceX is closing out their highly successful year of orbital missions by sending a new spy satellite beyond the stratosphere today.
The United States National Reconnaissance Office launched a classified spacecraft payload Saturday aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
The NORL-108 is a national security mission designed to provide intelligence data to the United States Department of Defense.
The launch had been originally scheduled for Thursday, December 17, but was aborted due to irregular pressure readings.
At the request of the N.R.O., SpaceX did not show the satellite's positioning, but it did broadcast a successful launch, separation and landing of Falcon 9.
The rocket's first stage booster had previously been used in the launch of two SpaceX cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station and a Starlink mission.
SpaceX says that Falcon 9 "is the world's first orbital class reusable rocket."
Watch the launch in the player below:
