US EditionSpaceX launches classified NROL-69 mission from Cape Canaveral
- On March 24, 2025, SpaceX launched the classified NROL-69 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 1:48 p.m. Eastern.
- The NROL-69 mission, valued at roughly $159.7 million as part of a two-mission contract, marked the first National Security Space Launch mission of 2025 and the first NRO mission under SpaceX's NSSL Phase 2 contract awarded in August 2020.
- The NRO, responsible for designing and operating U.S. Government surveillance satellites, is rapidly expanding its network, having launched over 150 satellites in the past two years to modernize intelligence-gathering from space and support military operations.
- SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket successfully delivered the NROL-69 payload to an undisclosed orbital location following a northeast trajectory, with the first-stage booster landing safely at Landing Zone 1 approximately 8.5 minutes after liftoff, marking its second flight and the 50th touchdown at LZ-1.
- The NRO plans approximately a dozen launches in 2025, with additional deployments through 2029, to expand its proliferated architecture of small satellites, as it aims to build the largest U.S. Government satellite network in history, partnering with SpaceX and Northrop Grumman.
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