The world’s largest rocket has successfully blasted into space from Florida’s Cape Canaveral for all to see, but the exact details of its intelligence agency cargo is something that the US government is keeping a closely guarded secret. The United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint space delivery service by aerospace giants Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company, carried out the launch of a Delta IV Heavy rocket. It saw the triple engine craft roar from its launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, traveling at the speed of sound before soaring beyond the atmosphere.

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is perhaps one of the lesser-known US intelligence agencies, the function of which were only made known to the public back in 1992. The office is largely responsible for producing spy satellites and improving hardware sent out to space. It is believed that the latest Delta IV rocket launch is again part of that bid to have “eyes and ears” in difficult to reach places, although the exact purpose or location of the satellite is unknown.

This is the 32nd Delta IV Heavy to launch since the inaugural flight in 2002. It’s also the 107th ULA mission since the organization’s founding in 2006.