SpaceX successfully launched a classified U.S. military payload, NROL-77, from Cape Canaveral on Dec. 9 at 2:16 p.m. EDT.

The mission, for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), carries a national security satellite, though specific details about the payload remain secret.

The mission patch features a flying squirrel and the motto “Another One Gone — Today, Tomorrow and Beyond,” symbolizing endurance and knowledge-gathering in space.

This was SpaceX’s third NRO launch of 2025 and the seventh Falcon 9 flight carrying an “NROL-” payload this year, Space.com has reported.

The Falcon 9 first stage successfully landed back at Cape Canaveral, marking the fourth flight for this booster, while the timing and location of the payload deployment remain undisclosed.