SpaceX has successfully launched a Falcon 9 carrying classified satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office, in a mission tied to US national security operations.
The launch took place from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 7:13 p.m. local time (2:13 a.m. GMT), according to a broadcast on SpaceX’s official X account.
Minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster successfully returned to Earth and landed, marking its ninth reuse, a key milestone in SpaceX’s cost-saving reusable rocket technology.
The mission, designated NROL-172, represents SpaceX’s second launch this year for the National Reconnaissance Office, the US agency responsible for operating reconnaissance and intelligence satellites.
Details about the payload remain classified, with neither the specifications nor the capabilities of the satellites disclosed due to the sensitive nature of the mission.
The NRO maintains strict secrecy over its space-based intelligence programs, which play a critical role in US national security and global surveillance operations.
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