SpaceX to launch 7th batch of next-gen spy satellites for US government tonight

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a black and white rocket launches into a blue sky

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the NROL-167 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 24, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX plans to launch another batch of U.S. spy satellites from California's central coast tonight (Jan. 9).

A Falcon 9 rocket is set to lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base tonight at 10:52 p.m. EST (7:52 p.m. local California time; 0352 GMT on Jan. 11) on the NROL-153 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

SpaceX will webcast the action live via its X account, with coverage beginning about 10 minutes before launch.

NROL-153 is the seventh launch servicing the NRO's "proliferated architecture," which the agency has described as consisting of "numerous, smaller satellites designed for capability and resilience."

We don't know much beyond that, as the NRO tends to be tight-lipped about its orbiting assets. However, the proliferated architecture satellites are thought to be "Starshield" craft — modified versions of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites featuring some high-tech reconnaissance gear.

The previous six proliferated architecture missions also flew on Falcon 9 rockets from Vandenberg, between May and December of last year.

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If all goes according to plan, the Falcon 9's first stage will come down for a landing on the drone ship named "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean about eight minutes after liftoff tonight.

It will be the 22nd launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.

The rocket's upper stage, meanwhile, will continue carrying its clandestine satellites to orbit. We don't know when or where exactly they will be deployed; SpaceX's mission description does not provide that information.

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Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

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