SpaceX launches second Falcon 9 in 24 hours with spy satellites

One of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets was launched on the night of September 5 to 6. It carried a batch of next-generation spy satellites into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office's activities.

On September 6 at 7:20 PM Eastern Time, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Its mission was to carry a batch of next-generation spy satellites into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office.

This was the second Falcon 9 launch within 24 hours. Another model of this rocket had placed 21 Starlink satellites into orbit. During the mission designated as NROL-113, approximately 8.5 minutes after the launch, the Falcon landed on the autonomous ship "Of Course I Still Love You," stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

SpaceX claims that this was the twentieth launch and landing of this particular booster. Fourteen of the flights were conducted for the Starlink project missions. NROL-113 was the third launch supporting the NRO's distributed architecture, which is a network consisting of numerous smaller satellites. Little is known about their function in orbit–their operations are classified.

In 2024, SpaceX conducted 86 orbital missions, 70% of which were flights for the Starlink missions. Today's launches mark SpaceX's return to regular operations. According to space.com, there were significant mishaps earlier this summer. On July 11, a failure during a Starlink project launch prevented the company from conducting launches for about two weeks. Additionally, after a failed booster landing on August 28, launches had to be halted for three days.