NRO Launching New Batch of Satellites from Vandenberg Base Early Sunday

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, California — The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is poised to launch its third satellite mission in just eight days on Sunday, April 20. The launch, designated the NROL-145 mission, is scheduled for 5:29 a.m. PDT (8:29 a.m. EDT, 1229 UTC) and will see a batch of satellites deployed into low Earth orbit to support the agency’s proliferated architecture constellation.

This upcoming launch follows two recent missions: NROL-192, which launched 22 satellites on April 12, and NROL-174, which lifted two payloads into orbit on April 16 via a Minotaur rocket. The NROL-145 mission will utilize SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 rocket, specifically the first stage booster with tail number B1082, marking its 12th flight, having supported various missions including USSF-62 and multiple Starlink launches.

“Every mission counts as we enhance our capabilities to support national security,” Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist and spaceflight expert, said. He maintains a comprehensive database of spaceflight activities and noted that NROL-145 will be the tenth overall launch for the proliferated architecture constellation.

Successful liftoff will occur from Space Launch Complex 4 East, with the Falcon 9 booster aiming for a landing on the droneship ‘Of Course I Still Love You‘ in the Pacific Ocean approximately eight minutes post-launch. If successful, this will mark the 126th successful booster landing.

While the NRO typically refrains from revealing the exact number of satellites on board, details will be made available once the legally required orbital tracking data is disclosed.

In conjunction with the impending NRO mission, SpaceX is also gearing up for a variety of other launches, including another Falcon 9 mission set to carry 57 Starlink satellites and two commercial Earth-imaging microsatellites for BlackSky from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

<p“Every successful launch underscores the NRO's commitment to providing critical satellite capabilities,” said the NRO in a statement, hinting at further launches ahead, including an unannounced NROL-48 mission poised to support its ongoing initiatives.”