SpaceX has successfully deployed its first national security mission of 2026, launching a batch of US spy satellites into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
The mission, which is called NROL-105, launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:39 p.m. ET on January 16.
The launch marked SpaceX’s seventh mission of the year and its first in 2026 dedicated to US national security.
Its deployment marks the 12th launch supporting the NRO’s “proliferated architecture,” a growing network of small reconnaissance satellites, which is particularly designed to enhance flexibility, resilience, and speed in intelligence gathering.
The constellation aims to offer faster revisit rates, rapid delivery, and wider coverage of critical information to U.S. government and military customers.
NRO Director Chris Scolese stated, “Having hundreds of small satellites on orbit is invaluable to the NRO’s mission,” mentioning the system’s ability to provide more timely and reliable intelligence.
During its prelaunch press kit, NRO stated, “The NRO’s proliferated system will increase timeliness of access, diversify communications pathways, and enhance resilience.”
“It will provide greater revisit rates and increased coverage, and eliminate single points of failure. With hundreds of small satellites on orbit, data will be delivered in minutes or even seconds. This will ensure the analysts, warfighters, and civil agencies NRO serves receive actionable information faster than ever before,” NRO added.
The satellites used in the proliferated architecture are built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman and have all been launched aboard Falcon 9 rockets from California. The first mission of this kind that occurred in May 2024,
It was the booster’s second successful flight and landing.
The Falcon 9’s first-stage booster returned safely to Earth, landing at Vandenberg nearly 7.5 minutes after launch.
However, details regarding the number of satellites and their orbits remain underwraps.
