Tag: NRO
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ULA’s penultimate Delta IV Heavy launches NROL-68 mission
United Launch Alliance’s penultimate Delta IV Heavy rocket took flight on the NROL-68 mission Thursday, lofting a secretive payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. Liftoff, from Space Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral, is expected at 05:18 AM EDT (10:18 UTC). The mission was set to launch on Wednesday before ULA scrubbed the attempt due…
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NRO awards contracts to Xplore and five other hyperspectral imaging companies
Xplore is working on its Xcraft satellite platform at its HQ in Redmond, Wash. (Xplore Illustration) The National Reconnaissance Office awarded study contracts to six companies offering — or planning to offer — satellite images of Earth in multiple wavelengths, including Redmond, Wash.-based Xplore. Other companies receiving contracts under NRO’s multi-stage Strategic Commercial Enhancements Broad…
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Virgin Orbit fails on first mission from the UK with Start Me Up
Virgin Orbit attempted to carry out the first satellite launch from the United Kingdom on Monday with the first LauncherOne mission out of Spaceport Cornwall. LauncherOne was dropped from Virgin’s Cosmic Girl carrier aircraft off the coast of Ireland at approximately 23:11 UTC, and flight appeared nominal through stage 2 ignition and fairing separation, although…
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Last West Coast Delta IV Heavy launches with NROL-91
United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket made its last West Coast launch on Saturday, carrying out a mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, as it moves one flight closer to retirement. Liftoff of the NRO Launch 91 (NROL-91) mission from Space Launch Complex 6 — at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California…
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NRO strikes multibillion-dollar deals with BlackSky, Maxar and Planet for spy satellite imagery
An artist’s conception shows one of BlackSky’s satellites in orbit. (Black Sky Illustration) Three satellite imaging companies are in line to receive billions of dollars from the National Reconnaissance Office over the next decade, thanks to a string of contracts announced today. The companies are the same satellite operators who won study contracts from the…
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Falcon 9 launches NROL-85 mission for National Reconnaissance Office
SpaceX launched a pair of ocean surveillance satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office on Sunday for the NROL-85 mission. The satellite lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 6:13 AM PDT (13:13 UTC). A flight-proven Falcon 9 was used to deliver the satellites into orbit, while the first stage returned to Vandenberg for a…
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SpaceX launches second Falcon 9 of the week with NROL-87
SpaceX has launched the National Reconnaissance Office Launch (NROL)-87 mission on their third dedicated mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). NROL-87 launched on top of a brand-new SpaceX Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex-4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California. Liftoff occurred on February 2 at 12:27 PM PST (20:27…
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Northrop Grumman launches second classified US government mission in two days with NROL-111
Northrop Grumman launched three national security payloads for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on the NROL-111 mission. The company used their solid propellant Minotaur I rocket to place the payloads into a low Earth orbit with a liftoff from Pad-0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia occurring on Tuesday, June 15 at 13:35 UTC…
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SpaceX completes 2020 manifest with covert flight for NRO
Rounding off a record-breaking and historic launch manifest for 2020, SpaceX conducted its second dedicated launch for the United States National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on Saturday – following a scrub on Thursday – with a flight-proven Falcon 9 carrying out the NROL-108 mission. Liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) occurred at…
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ULA Delta IV Heavy successfully launches NROL-44
United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy rocket successfully launched a classified National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) payload, codenamed NROL-44 at 20:09 EST on Thursday, 10 December (01:09 UTC on Friday, 12 December). The flight marked the first Delta IV mission since the Medium+ variant retired in August 2019 and the first Delta IV Heavy since January…