SpaceX executed the NROL-69 mission from Cape Canaveral, successfully deploying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). This launch marked a significant milestone as it was SpaceX's third NRO mission of the year and coincided with the 19th anniversary of their inaugural launch. The emblem representing this mission—a hummingbird—symbolized speed and agility, underscoring the strategic importance of rapid response capabilities in national security .
NROL-69 mission launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 1:48 p.m. Eastern, representing the first National Security Space Launch (NSSL) mission of 2025 and the first NRO mission under SpaceX’s NSSL Phase 2 contract awarded by the U.S. Space Force in August 2020.
Monday’s launch follows closely on the heels of the NROL-57 mission, which lifted off also on a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on March 21 at 2:49 a.m. Eastern. NROL-57 marked the eighth launch supporting the agency’s new proliferated architecture of small satellites.
“Over the past two years, NRO has launched more than 150 satellites, creating the largest and most capable government constellation on orbit in our nation’s history,” the NRO said in a statement. “Continuing with this momentum, 2025 is set to be another dynamic year, with approximately one dozen NRO launches scheduled.”
It also clocked in as the 25th orbital rocket launch thus far this year from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
SpaceX Falcon 9 on a Starlink mission, took flight March 18. Last year saw a new annual record with 93 launches — and this year's rate thus far would easily outpace that mark.
It also clocked in as the 25th orbital rocket launch thus far this year from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
SpaceX doesn’t often discuss this grey stripe, but it was briefly brought up by Ronnie Foreman, a SpaceX commercial sales manager, during the July 28, 2023, launch of the Jupiter-3 mission on a Falcon Heavy rocket. According to Forman, the mission debuted a new medium-coast configuration.
The 24th launch, a SpaceX Falcon 9 on a Starlink mission, took flight March 18. Last year saw a new annual record with 93 launches — and this year's rate thus far would easily outpace that mark.
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