SpaceX conducts 5th NRO launch of proliferated architecture in NROL-126 mission

SpaceX conducted its fifth launch of National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) proliferated architecture on Saturday from California. 

The NRO said it partnered with the U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 30 and SpaceX to successfully launch the NROL-126 mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. 

It happened from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 3:10 a.m. ET.

“This mission is the fifth launch of the NRO’s proliferated architecture, showcasing the efficiency of delivery on orbit for this program,” the NRO said in a statement. “Today’s successful mission follows the NROL-167 launch on Oct. 24, and the ongoing pace of deployment continues to diversify NRO’s operational satellite constellation.” 

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying the GSAT-20 satellite for New Space India on Nov. 18, 2024. (Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via / Getty Images)

“For more than 60 years, the NRO has successfully met the needs of its U.S. intelligence, military, civil, and allied partners. It remains the world’s leader in unique intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems,” the statement said. “The NRO’s next-generation systems will help ensure that the right data is delivered to the right user at the right time, faster than ever before. Approximately a half dozen launches supporting NRO’s proliferated architecture are planned for 2024, with additional launches expected through 2028.” 

In addition to the NRO’s NROL-126 mission, SpaceX said the Falcon 9 rocket also carried 20 Starlink satellites to orbit. 

It represented SpaceX’s “100th successful launch from pad 4E in California,” the company founded by Elon Musk in 2002 said on X. 

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, carrying the NASA probe Europa Clipper on its way to Jupiter on Oct. 14, 2024. (Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via / Getty Images)

SpaceX had already carried four batches of NRO satellites – constructed by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman – to low Earth orbit in May, June, September and October, according to SpaceNews.com. Saturday’s launch marked the first time the NROL-126 mission included an unspecified number of government satellites, as well as 20 Starlink internet satellites. 

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It was also the first flight to involve the Falcon 9’s first stage booster, which successfully landed on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean about eight minutes after liftoff, SpaceNews reported. 

No live broadcast of liftoff was available, according to SpaceNews, and a live feed became available shortly before the main engine cut off. 

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, carrying the NASA probe Europa Clipper on its way to Jupiter. (Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“This mission continues the NRO’s cutting edge capability of building and developing the U.S. government’s largest satellite constellation in history to deliver critical information that can only be obtained from the vantage point of space,” a woman’s voice is heard narrating the launch in a clip of the feed shared on X. 

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The NRO, which designs and operates classified U.S. government surveillance and intelligence satellites, is working to rapidly deploy “a new network of satellites designed to track ground targets in near real time,” according to SpaceNews.