“SpaceX’s NROL-146 Mission: Key Insights into the US Spy Satellite Launch”
The flight of NROL-146 mission took place at 4 am ET this morning. SpaceX launched a leading set of spy satellites for the US government on Wednesday morning (May 22).
At 4 am EDT (0800 GMT; 1 am local California time) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off, carrying the NROL-146 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) into space.
We don’t know much about the payload sent into space as part of the NROL-146 mission, which isn’t surprising; the NRO typically keeps a tight lid on the activities and capabilities of its satellites. Consequently, there was no footage of the stages of separation of the Falcon 9 rocket.
The Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage started to descend down to Earth about six minutes after launch. The first stage touched down on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” stationed in the Pacific Ocean about nine minutes after liftoff. This marked the 16th launch and landing for this particular Falcon 9 first-stage rocket.
According to a mission description provided by the NRO, NROL-146 “will be the first launch of NRO’s expanded architecture.” The agency talks about the mission’s motto, “Power in Numbers,” and offers some additional details about that architecture.
NRO officials wrote, “It describes the NRO’s new strategy for an expanded overhead architecture – a multitude of small, agile satellites designed for capacity and resiliency.”
So it’s safe to assume that rather than a single heavy spacecraft, several small satellites were launched as part of the NROL-146 mission.
SpaceX’s mission details did not specify where the satellites are headed or provide a expected deployment time, as such details are typically included for non-classified missions.
Wednesday morning’s launch was SpaceX’s 52nd orbital launch of 2024. Of the 52 launches so far this year, 36 have been dedicated to building the Starlink broadband constellation.
“Stay connected with our celestial community hub for lively discussions on cutting-edge space explorations, celestial spectacles, and myriad cosmic interests! Furthermore, don’t hesitate to reach out to us via communication@space.com to share breaking stories, rectify inaccuracies, or simply drop a line.”
SPACE News:https://www.space.com/