Elon Musk’s commercial space flight company, SpaceX has been doing secret missions for the US government since 2015. Aside from that, its Dragon Capsule regularly performs resupply mission to and from the International Space Station (ISS). And according to recent reports, the company will launch another secret spy mission for the US military.

SpaceX rocket launch

The company is slated to launch another Falcon 9 rocket this Thursday from their launch pad inside the historic Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Thursday’s launch will be the 13th Falcon 9 liftoff this year, after being banned from launches late last year due to an explosion in their Cape Canaveral launch pad.

But this week’s rocket launch is not what an ordinary SpaceX launch looks like. The mission is shrouded in mystery because it is said to carry a classified payload for the US military. What makes it more interesting is that the rocket is scheduled to take off despite forecasts of the Hurricane Irma. This denotes how important the payload could be.

Weather condition

According to the forecast by the Patrick Air Force Base, Irma is expected to reach the area about 900 miles near the launch site during the scheduled take-off. With the hurricane’s proximity during the launch, thick clouds are expected to cover the skies. Because of that, there’s a 40 to 60 percent chance that the launch will push through.

A backup Friday window was also reserved for the rocket lift off.

According to Bloomberg, this week’s mission is the fifth for the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, a spacecraft about 20 percent the mass of NASA’s Space Shuttle. SpaceX will carry a US Air Force drone for the first time. This specific drone is known for its use in orbital classified missions.

The US Air Force has been very secretive about the payload for all their missions carried out by SpaceX.

Launch window

Musk’s company released a timeline for the mission. On Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017, the rocket will take off during the window from 9:50 am to 2:55 pm. According to the company’s press release, they will attempt to land the first stage booster for reuse.

SpaceX is known for mastering the landing and reuse of first stage Falcon 9 rockets. This enabled them to reuse the spacecraft, which then help lower the cost of space flights. In May 2015, SpaceX signed with the US Air Force to conduct security space mission taking over the role United Launch Alliance used to perform.