The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the NROL-153 mission into space late Thursday from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California with "classified payloads."
"Building on the success of the NROL-149 launch on Dec. 17, today's mission demonstrates the ongoing launch cadence that is strengthening the NRO's intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities," the agency said on Thursday.
The satellites have advanced remote-sensing capabilities to give real-time data on military enemy movements and other intelligence to support U.S. operations. The NRO launched six missions last year and including Thursday's launch has five more on the horizon in 2025.
"The NRO continues to build and fortify the largest government constellation in history, with proliferated launches continuing through 2028," the NRO said pre-launch.
"Having hundreds of NRO satellites in orbit is invaluable to our nation and our partners. They will provide greater revisit rates, increasing coverage, faster delivery of information, and ultimately help us to more quickly deliver what our customers need."
SpaceX said it was the 22nd mission for the Falcon 9 first-stage booster, which returned safely back Earth after the launch. It was used on three other NRO flights and 13 Starlink missions.
SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites in 25th mission for 1st-stage booster
Washington DC (UPI) Jan 10, 2024 -
SpaceX on Friday launched 21 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit with a Falcon 9 rocket whose reusable first stage took part in a record 25th mission.
Among the 21 satellites that lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida were 13 with direct-to-cell capabilities, SpaceX said.
"The Starlink Direct to Cell constellation now has 400 satellites to enable ubiquitous access to texting, calling, and browsing around the world, eliminating dead zones across land, lakes, or coastal waters," the company said.
Shortly after Friday's launch, the record-breaking booster landed on the Just Read the Instructions drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
It had flown on 24 previous missions, including CRS-22, CRS-25, Crew-3, Crew-4, TelkomSat-113BT, Turksat-5B, Koreasat-6A, Eutelsat HOTBIRD-F2, Galileo L13, mPOWER-A, PSN MFS, and 13 previous Starlink flights.
SpaceX touted the accomplishments of the single Falcon rocket for its participation in four Dragon missions, in which eight astronauts were transported to the International Space Station, and in delivering more than 430 spacecraft to orbit during the past four years.
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