SpaceX launched a pilot suite of spy satellites for the US government early Wednesday (May 22).
A Falcon 9 rocket launched mission NROL-146 for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) at 4 a.m. EDT (0800 GMT; 1 a.m. local California time) from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
P[artoftheNROL-146missionwhichisn’tsurprising;theNROtypicallyrevealslittleaboutitssatellites’activitiesandcapabilitiesForthesamereasontherewasnofootageofthestagesoftheFalcon9rocketsoperating[NROL-146இன்கலைஇதுவியப்பிற்குரியதல்ல;NROபொதுவாகஅதன்செயற்கைக்கோள்களின்செயல்பாடுகள்மற்றும்திறன்களைப்பற்றிசிறிதளவுவெளிப்படுத்துகிறதுஅதேகாரணத்திற்காகபால்கன்9ராக்கெட்டின்நிலைகள்பிரிக்கப்பட்டகாட்சிகள்எதுவும்இல்லை[artoftheNROL-146missionwhichisn’tsurprising;theNROtypicallyrevealslittleaboutitssatellites’activitiesandcapabilitiesForthesamereasontherewasnofootageofthestagesoftheFalcon9rocketseperating
Related: SpaceX launches US spy satellite, rocket lands on flawless Easter flight
Six minutes after launch, the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage began burning its entry and it returned to Earth.
Nine minutes after the first stage was launched, the drone struck the off-course I Still Love You docked in the Pacific Ocean. This is the 16th launch and landing of the Falcon 9 first stage rocket.
A Job description, NRO says NROL-146 is “the first release of NRO’s augmented architecture.” The company explains a little more about that architecture when discussing its mission tagline, “Strength in Numbers.”
That motto “describes the incremental overhead architecture of the NRO’s new strategy — numerous, small satellites designed for efficiency and resilience,” NRO officials wrote.
So rather than one bulky spacecraft, it is safe to assume that several small satellites were launched as part of the NROL-146 ill-fated project.
A SpaceX mission descriptionSpaceX did not provide details on where the satellites are headed or the expected time for their deployment, which SpaceX typically covers for unclassified missions.
Wednesday morning’s launch will be SpaceX’s 52nd orbital liftoff in 2024. Of the 52 launches this year to date, 36 have been dedicated to building the company’s Starlink broadband constellation.
