SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on April 6, 2024. (SpaceX)

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Spaceport in California on Friday evening.

The rocket launched at 8:14 p.m. PT

The mission, known as NROL-186, carried out on Friday evening was to transport a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, a government agency responsible for developing and building spy satellites for the United States.

After the vertical launch, the Falcon began a gradual rotation as it continued to climb into orbit.

After stage separation after launch, the Falcon's reusable booster landed precisely on the spaceport drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

The first stage booster of this special Falcon 9 rocket has completed eight launches so far.

The booster has previously launched Crew-7, CRS-29, PACE, Transporter-10, EarthCARE and two Starlink missions.

Friday night's launch could be visible from hundreds of miles away along the Southern California coast.

The mission was the 66th flight of the Falcon 9 in 2024. To date, 47 launches of the rocket have been dedicated to building SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellite network in low Earth orbit.