Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched a rocket in California early Wednesday for a “top secret” mission on behalf of the U.S. government.
The mission, designated NROL-146, has been described as the first 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.
The Falcon 9 rocket launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at around 1:00 a.m. PDT. The number of satellites on board was not disclosed.
Newsweek has contacted the NRO for more details about the mission via email.
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Reports suggest that the mission pertains to Starshield Satellites, which is a government-specific iteration of SpaceX’s Starlink, a constellation project developed with the goal of providing global high-speed internet coverage.
Starlink announced Monday that it had surpassed three million customers around the world.
The NRO first launched prototypes for the Starshield constellation around five years ago.
“We recognized that we had challenges, as we’ve mentioned, with Russia and China trying to deny our ability to operate in space,” Chris Scolese, head of the NRO said in March.
“The other reason we needed it is we recognized that we needed to have more persistent coverage of the Earth. So, we needed to proliferate.”
The NRO’s principal deputy director Troy Meink said at the annual Space Symposium earlier this year: “These systems will increase timeliness of access, diversify communications pathways, and enhance our resilience.”
Users on X, formerly Twitter, which was bought by Musk in 2022, took to the platform to wish the mission well with messages such as “Good luck” and “Go Falcon!”
The Falcon 9 is a 230ft by 12ft rocket developed by SpaceX. Falcon 9 rockets successfully completed three other satellite launches in January 2024.
A satellite constellation is a system of multiple satellites working together to achieve a common objective, typically involving communication, navigation, or Earth observation. These satellites are strategically positioned in specific orbits to provide continuous coverage over particular areas of the Earth.
The satellites in a constellation are placed in a way that ensures continuous, overlapping coverage, which allows for uninterrupted service.
For example, GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites are arranged so that multiple satellites are always in view from any point on Earth, ensuring precise location tracking at all times.
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