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CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — SpaceX successfully launched the NROL-77 mission from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 Tuesday afternoon.
Rocket lovers may have heard a sonic boom, which was expected during SpaceX’s launch of a U.S. national security satellite.
What You Need To Know
- The takeoff took place at Space Launch Complex 40
- This is a top-secret mission for the National Reconnaissance Office and U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command
Going up
This was the fourth mission for B1096, the name of this Falcon 9’s first-stage booster.
After the first-stage separation, it landed at Landing Zone 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
And many may have heard it.
“There is the possibility that residents of Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Indian River, Seminole, Volusia, Polk, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the landing, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions,” explained SpaceX in an email to the media.
How the first-stage Falcon 9 rocket booster lands at Landing Zone 2. (SpaceX)
About the mission
There is not much about the mission that can be released since it is a launch for national security.
“The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command (SSC) are partnering to launch NROL-77 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket through the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. This mission carries a national security payload designed, built, and operated by NRO,” stated the National Reconnaissance Office in a media release.
This is SpaceX’s second NRO mission, with the first one being in 2017.
The mission patch is of a flying squirrel, which the NRO has stated is a symbol of hard work and endurance.
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Anthony Leone
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