SpaceX launched the latest batch of spy satellites for the US government early Friday (June 19).
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A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 04:50 a.m. EDT (08:50 GMT, 01:50 California local time).
The launch marked the start of the NROL-179 for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which operates the country's fleet of spy satellites. NROL-179 is the 14th mission in a new generation of satellite networks known as the "proliferated architecture." The satellites in the program are being built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman.
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Information about the spacecraft remains limited, as the NRO has not released details about their missions or orbits. All of the satellites in this program have been launched into orbit on Falcon 9 rockets launched from Vandenberg, with the first mission scheduled for May 2024.
According to the flight plan, the Falcon 9 first stage returned to Earth less than eight minutes after liftoff, landing at Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base. It was the booster's third flight, according to SpaceX's mission description
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NROL-179 was the 71st Falcon 9 mission in 2026. Of these, 57 involved the further development of SpaceX's Starlink broadband internet satellite network in low Earth orbit.
