SpaceX to launch Starshield satellites for the NRO on Falcon 9 rocket from California – Spaceflight Now
File: The Falcon 9 at sunrise Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 as final preparations were made for the NROL-167 mission. Image: SpaceX.
SpaceX is preparing for its first West Coast Falcon 9 launch of the year, which will feature the latest batch of Starshield satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Liftoff of the NROL-153 mission from pad 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base is set for 7:52 p.m. PST (10:52 p.m. EST, 0352 UTC). This will be SpaceX’s fourth orbital launch of the year.
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage of the mission beginning about 30 minutes prior to liftoff.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster for this mission, tail number B1071 in the SpaceX fleet, will be launching for a 22nd time. It’s previous flights included three rideshare missions (Transporter-8, Transporte...