SpaceX launches on beautiful California beach the NROL-167 on top secret mission for National Reconnaissance Office (Image Credit: Sat News)
The day was picture perfect in California so that on Thursday, October 24 at 10:13 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 launched the NROL-167 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It was the 100th liftoff of Falcon 9 this year.
This was the 21st flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched NROL-113, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb, SDA-0B, and 14 Starlink missions.
The secret mission, NROL-167, was the 100th Falcon 9 liftoff of 2024.
The mission is suspected to launch a fourth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to provide imaging and other reconnaissance capabilities.
SpaceX’s top secret NROL-167 mission ready to roll on Thursday
SpaceX is targeting Thursday, October 24 for a Falcon 9 launch of the NROL-167 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 10:13 a.m. PT. If needed, a backup opportunity is available on Friday, October 25 at 9:59 a.m. PT. The launch cost is $52,000,000.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about ten minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch at spacex.com and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
The forecast calls for a temperature of 61°F, broken clouds, 62% cloud cover and a wind speed of 4mph.
This is the 21st flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched NROL-113, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb, SDA-0B, and 14 Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
The mission is suspected to launch a fourth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to provide imaging and other reconnaissance capabilities.