Tag: National Reconnaissance Office
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NRO Awards First Contracts to Commercial Space Firms Under New Procurement Program
The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has awarded its first three contracts under a new procurement program aimed at expanding access to commercial satellite intelligence capabilities, Deputy Director Maj. Gen. Christopher Povak said on Thursday. Speaking at the National Security Space Association’s Defense and Intelligence Space Conference, Povak said the contracts were issued through the…
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NRO, SpaceX launch reconnaissance satellites from Vandenberg
A long exposure shot showing the ascent of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East and the return of the booster, 1100, to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base during the NROL-105 mission on Jan. 16, 2026. Image: SpaceX Update Jan. 17, 12 a.m. EST (0500 UTC): SpaceX landed its…
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Launch Roundup: Starlink, NRO, and New Shepard missions
Another busy week of launches has arrived, with SpaceX dominating the launch manifest with four missions for the week. Three of these missions saw new batches of Starlink internet satellites launched into the company’s Starlink constellation, with the fourth mission launching a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. Blue Origin finally launched its uncrewed NS-35…
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Launch Roundup: Electron, Falcon 9, and Ceres-1 launches flying this week
The busy launch manifests of recent weeks are continuing, with Falcon 9, Electron, and Chinese rocket launches having taken place this week. SpaceX launched Starlink 12-25 and NROL-57 along with NROL-69, while Starlink 11-7 moved into next week. Rocket Lab’s Electron successfully launched from New Zealand on the heels of last week’s “The Lightning God…
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NRO chief: “You can’t hide” from our new swarm of SpaceX-built spy satellites
The director of the National Reconnaissance Office has a message for US adversaries around the world. “You can’t hide, because we’re constantly looking,” said Chris Scolese, a longtime NASA engineer who took the helm of the US government’s spy satellite agency in 2019. The NRO is taking advantage of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite assembly line to…
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NRO chief: “You can’t hide” from our new swarm of SpaceX-built spy satellites
The director of the National Reconnaissance Office has a message for US adversaries around the world. “You can’t hide, because we’re constantly looking,” said Chris Scolese, a longtime NASA engineer who took the helm of the US government’s spy satellite agency in 2019. The NRO is taking advantage of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite assembly line to…
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After a fiery finale, the Delta rocket family now belongs to history
The final flight of United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy rocket took off Tuesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a classified spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. The Delta IV Heavy, one of the world’s most powerful rockets, launched for the 16th and final time Tuesday. It was the 45th and last flight of…
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The Delta IV Heavy, a rocket whose time has come and gone, will fly once more
This is the rocket that literally lights itself on fire before it heads to space. It’s the world’s largest rocket entirely fueled by liquid hydrogen, a propellant that is vexing to handle but rewarding in its efficiency. The Delta IV Heavy was America’s most powerful launch vehicle for nearly a decade and has been a…
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ULA’s Atlas V rocket has launched for the first time in nearly a year
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket returned to action Sunday with a mission to deploy multiple satellites into geosynchronous orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office and the US Space Force. This mission ended a 10-month gap in launches for ULA’s primary rocket, the longest period between Atlas V launches in 20 years as the company…
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US spy satellite agency isn’t so silent about new “Silent Barker” mission
9:50 am EDT Tuesday update: The Atlas V rocket has returned to its hangar at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to take shelter from Hurricane Idalia, which is forecast to strike the Florida Gulf Coast this week. This rollback of the rocket likely pushes the launch until no earlier than some time Labor Day weekend. 8:45…