On April 12, 2025, at 5:25 a.m. PT, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 successfully launched the NROL-192 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Targeting Saturday, April 12 for a Falcon 9 launch of the @NatReconOfc‘s NROL-192 mission from California → https://t.co/OpmsJSIeLk
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 11, 2025
The classified payload likely included Starshield satellites, a government version of Starlink, supporting the NRO’s proliferated architecture, which enhances intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.
The battle-hardened Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1071 rocketed into its 24th adventure with NROL-192, having previously propelled a stellar roster of missions like NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, Transporter-9, NROL-146, Bandwagon-2, NROL-153, and 14 Starlink constellations into the cosmos.
After stage separation, B1071 landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship in the Pacific Ocean, marking SpaceX’s 400th booster reuse milestone.
This mission, SpaceX’s ninth for the NRO in 2025, highlights the NRO’s efforts to strengthen its satellite constellation to improve national security data collection.