A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launched the National Reconnaissance Office's NROL-97 mission with a secret payload from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at 11:54 p.m. on 1 October 2026. Following stage separation, Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters landed on SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 and LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

This is the second and fourth flight for the two first stage side boosters supporting this mission, which previously launched the GOES-U, Viasat-3 F3, and Roman Space Telescope missions.