(Cape Canaveral, FL) Elon Musk’s space transport company successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket at 7:15 Eastern this morning. The two-stage rocket took off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, carrying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The exact contents of the payload are unknown, but an NRO spokesperson did confirm that they booked the launch through a 3rd party contractor and that the launch mission was a “delivery in orbit,” which all but confirms that the payload was a satellite for the organization.
SpaceX did provide their usual live feed of the launch up until the ignition of the rocket’s second stage. At this point, the NRO requested the feed be terminated to preserve secrecy around the details of the payload and their exact orbit. A typical reconnaissance satellite that is equipped with optical cameras tend to be launched into sun-synchronous orbit, where their orbital pattern brings closer to the Earth’s poles.
Radar imaging satellites are not as restricted to the same limitations, given their ability to capture images regardless of sunlight. Orbital data on any U.S. or allied government classified satellites are not released to the public, but amateur space enthusiasts do tend to identify and publish estimates of what they believe satellite orbital patterns are.
This launch marks the 33rd flight of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket system, but the first that was carried out for a national security mission. SpaceX is contracted to carry out two more missions for the U.S. government, with the Air Force utilizing them to launch GPS navigation satellites into orbit.
SpaceX is competing directly with ULA to win rights for national security launches, as space missions have been moved to the private sector. SpaceX is also scheduled to deliver resupplies to the International Space Station at the end of the month.
