[Launch Alert] Falcon 9 Launched

[Launch Alert]

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the NROL-153 payload was launched Thursday evening (January 9) at 7:53 p.m. PST from Vandenberg SFB, Calif.

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The following is a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) press release about the launch:

NRO Successfully Launches First Mission of 2025 with NROL-153
First of approximately a dozen NRO launches planned for 2025

CHANTILLY, Va. — The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), in partnership with U.S. Space Force Space Launch Delta 30 and SpaceX, successfully launched the NROL-153 mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Jan. 9, 2025, at 10:53 p.m. EST.

This mission is the seventh launch of the NRO's proliferated architecture and marks the first NRO launch of 2025. Building on the success of the NROL-149 launch on Dec. 17, today’s mission demonstrates the ongoing launch cadence that is strengthening the NRO’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.

NRO achieved significant success in the past year with the deployment of nearly 100 satellites on orbit. Continuing with this momentum, 2025 is set to be another dynamic year, with approximately a dozen NRO launches scheduled. Half of these launches will focus on advancing the NRO’s proliferated architecture with additional proliferated launches planned through 2028, ensuring sustained growth and innovation.

For more than 60 years, the NRO has successfully met the needs of its U.S. intelligence, military, civil, and allied partners. It remains the world’s leader in unique intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems. The NRO’s next-generation systems will help ensure that the right data is delivered to the right user at the right time, faster than ever before.

Additional information on upcoming launches will be available at NRO.gov/launch.