The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has reached a remarkable milestone, deploying over 200 satellites into orbit in a little over two years. This follows the April 20 launch of the classified NROL-145 mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base. This launch marked SpaceX’s 10th mission supporting the NRO’s ambitious proliferated architecture.
This strategy emphasizes numerous smaller satellites, creating a resilient network offering superior coverage compared to fewer, larger satellites. The NRO designs and operates classified U.S. government surveillance and intelligence satellites, and this extensive network is designed for near real-time ground target tracking. NROL-145 was the inaugural mission awarded under the U.S. Space Force’s National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 program; one of nine awarded to SpaceX in October 2024. “This was our first Phase 3 launch, coming only months after establishing this new contract,” Col. Jim Horne, launch execution senior materiel leader at the Space Systems Command, stated.
Col. Horne also mentioned that 44 missions from the preceding NSSL Phase 2 contract remain. The majority were awarded to United Launch Alliance (ULA), whose new Vulcan rocket is anticipated to perform its first NSSL mission this summer. The NRO clarified that NSSL is just one acquisition method among several used to deploy its satellites. They’ve collaborated with SpaceX and Rocket Lab through commercial agreements and recently employed Northrop Grumman’s Minotaur IV for a mission under a separate Space Force contract.
“Over the past two years, NRO has launched more than 200 satellites, creating the largest and most capable government constellation on orbit in our nation’s history,” the agency announced. Looking forward, “2025 is set to be another dynamic year, with approximately one dozen NRO launches scheduled. Half of these launches will focus on advancing the NRO’s proliferated architecture with additional proliferated launches planned through 2029.”