A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the NROL-69 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:48 p.m. on 24 March 2025. Following stage separation, Falcon 9's first stage landed on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

This is the second flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched a Starlink mission.

Since its inception more than 60 years ago, the National Reconnaissance Office [NRO] has been on the leading edge of innovation – collecting and delivering critical information that can only be obtained from the vantage point of space.

From warfighters to humanitarian responders, the NRO serves a wide range of customers. The Department of Defense and Intelligence Community depend on NRO capabilities for national security objectives. NRO systems are often the only tools able to access hostile territory or rugged terrain, and they can collect critical information without risking human lives or infringing on other nations’ territorial sovereignty. Civilian customers depend on the NRO’s space-based collections to assess damage from natural disasters, and help relief agencies determine how and where to deliver humanitarian aid.

IMAGE CREDIT: NRO

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command (SSC) are partnering to launch NROL-69 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket through the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. This mission carries a national security payload designed, built, and operated by NRO.

One of NRO’s most critical relationships is with the Space Force. The partnership between NRO and SSC through the NSSL program plays a key role in delivering critical space-based capabilities for national security. NSSL, a government launch acquisition partnership program between SSC’s Assured Access to Space and NRO, is overseen and operated by SSC headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base in California. The program uses commercial-like contracts and pricing to save taxpayer dollars while ensuring high-quality service. This innovative approach ensures that the U.S. government benefits from the best value while meeting its national security needs.

NROL-69 is the first NRO mission launched with SpaceX from the NSSL Phase 2 contract awarded in August 2020. Previously, NRO and SSC launched two NSSL Phase 1A missions with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base with NROL-87 and NROL-85 in 2022.

NSSL continues to be NRO’s principal mechanism to procure launch services for major system acquisitions to maintain NRO’s assured and affordable access to space.