A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket introduces the NROL-167 objective for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 24, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX)
SpaceX released another batch of U.S. spy satellites from California’s main coast tonight (Jan. 9).
A Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base tonight at 10:53 p.m. EST (7:53 p.m. regional California time; 0353 GMT on Jan. 10) on the NROL-153 objective for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
NROL-153 was the seventh launch servicing the NRO’s “multiplied architecture,” which the company has actually referred to as including “many, smaller sized satellites developed for ability and strength.”
We do not understand much beyond that, as the NRO tends to be tight-lipped about its orbiting properties. The multiplied architecture satellites are believed to be “Starshield” craft– customized variations of SpaceX’s Starlink web satellites including some modern reconnaissance equipment.
Related: SpaceX releases next-gen United States spy satellites on 100th Falcon 9 flight of the year (video, images)
The previous 6 multiplied architecture objectives likewise flew on Falcon 9 rockets from Vandenberg, in between May and December of in 2015.
The Falcon 9’s very first phase boiled down for a landing on the SpaceX drone ship called “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean about 8 minutes after liftoff tonight as prepared.
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It was the 22nd launch and landing for this specific booster, according to a SpaceX objective description.
The rocket’s upper phase, on the other hand, continued bring its private satellites to orbit. We do not understand when or where precisely they will be released; SpaceX’s objective description does not supply that info.
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Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and signed up with the group in 2010. He mostly covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military area, however has actually been understood to meddle the area art beat. His book about the look for alien life, “Out There,” was released on Nov. 13, 2018. Before ending up being a science author, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science composing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To discover what his newest job is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.
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