SpaceX is gearing up for the ninth flight test of its mighty Starship rocket, and it's going to try something new.

"The phenomenon is highly repeatable. We discovered an unplanned new technique for identifying objects entering the earth's atmosphere."

DARPA's AtmoSense program uses Earth's atmosphere as a global sensor to detect disturbances like underground explosions and national security threats.

SpaceX has now launched eight full-scale test flights of Starship, with a Super Heavy booster and Starship's upper stage stacked together to form a rocket that towers 404 feet (123.1 meters) tall. The booster portion of the rocket has performed well so far, with seven consecutive successful launches since a failure on Starship's debut flight.

The Falcon 9's first stage successfully executed a landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base approximately 7.5 minutes after liftoff after its launch execution. SpaceX's mission data confirms this was the fourth flight for the booster. This reinforced the company's advancements in rapid refurbishment and reuse of rocket components.

The first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Welcome to Edition 7.36 of the Rocket Report! Well, after nine months, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally back on Earth, safe and sound. This brings to conclusion one of the stranger and more dramatic human spaceflight stories in years. We're glad they're finally home, soon to be reunited with their families.

SpaceX is targeting Monday, March 24 for a Falcon 9 launch of the NROL-69 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.