SpaceX introduced any other batch of U.S. secret agent satellites this morning (Dec. 17) from California’s central coast.A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg House Pressure Base nowadays at 8:19 a.m. EST (1319 GMT; 5:19 a.m. native California time), wearing a suite of spacecraft for the Nationwide Reconnaissance Place of job (NRO).These days’s flight used to be the booster’s twenty second challenge total. It got here down for a touchdown at the drone send “Of Direction I Nonetheless Love You” within the Pacific Ocean about eight-and-a-half mins after liftoff to mark the corporate’s 384th total restoration of an orbital-class rocket, together with each Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters. The flight used to be SpaceX’s 127th challenge of 2024.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the NROL-149 from Vandenberg House Pressure Base on Dec. 17, 2024. (Symbol credit score: SpaceX)The challenge, known as NROL-149, “is the 6th release of NRO’s proliferated structure, 8th release of 2024 and ultimate release of the yr!” the company stated in an X submit on Sunday (Dec. 15).Similar: SpaceX launches next-gen US secret agent satellites on one centesimal Falcon 9 flight of the yr (video, footage)”Proliferated structure” refers to a “new paradigm for property the NRO is placing on orbit,” NRO officers wrote in an outline of the former challenge within the sequence, NROL-126, which introduced on Nov. 30.The ones property, the outline added, are “a large number of, smaller satellites designed for capacity and resilience.” We do not know a lot past that; the NRO, which operates the US’ fleet of secret agent satellites, has a tendency to not supply many information about its spacecraft or their actions.Breaking house information, the newest updates on rocket launches, skywatching occasions and extra!Then again, the proliferated structure payloads are believed to be “Starshield” satellites — spacecraft in response to SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellites, however with some high-tech reconnaissance tools hooked up.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 booster lands at the droneship “Of Direction I Nonetheless Love You” within the Pacific Ocean after launching the NROL-149 challenge on Dec. 17, 2024. (Symbol credit score: SpaceX)All 5 proliferated structure missions up to now have lifted off atop Falcon 9 rockets. And they all introduced this yr — NROL-146 in Would possibly, NROL-186 in June, NROL-113 in September, NROL-167 in October and NROL-126 in November.The primary level Falcon 9 booster that introduced NROL-149 nowadays additionally lofted two earlier secret agent satellite tv for pc missions, NROL-113 and NROL-167, in line with a SpaceX challenge description, in addition to NASA’s DART asteroid affect challenge.It is unclear when and the place the Falcon 9’s higher level will deploy the NROL-149 payloads; SpaceX’s challenge description does no longer supply that data. As with maximum nationwide safety launches, the corporate equipped no perspectives of level separation or payload deployment.
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