SpaceX launches classified NROL-69 mission from Cape Canaveral

Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel on Mar 24, 2025

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SpaceX sent up a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office from the Space Coast on Monday afternoon.

A Falcon 9 rocket on the NROL-69 mission lifted off at 1:48 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.

The first-stage booster flew for the second time and made a recovery landing at Canaveral’s Landing Zone 1, meaning parts of Central Florida may have heard one or more sonic booms.

This was the 24th launch from the Space Coast in 2025, with all but one coming from SpaceX.

The NRO partnered with U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command for this mission flying under the National Security Space Launch program. NROL-69 was awarded to SpaceX as part of two missions worth $160 million in 2021. It was originally targeted to fly no later than fall of 2023.

The mission logo for the NROL-69 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. The NRO designed, built and will operate the secretive payload, which has an origami hummingbird featured on its mission emblem along with the Latin phrase "Numquan Hibernare," meaning “never hibernate.”

“The Hummingbird illustrates the speed and agility with which we provide an advantage to the nation and its allies,” reads the mission press packet. “Our bird is ever vigilant.”

The NRO has flown two missions with SpaceX previously, although this is the first under the NSSL Phase 2 contract orders that were doled out from 2020-2024. SpaceX has just one more to fly for the NRO as part of that contract’s awards while United Launch Alliance has six among the Phase 2 contract awards lined up.

ULA’s national security missions, though, await the Space Force’s certification of its Vulcan rocket before it can begin knocking out what has grown to be a backlog of 25 missions awarded over Phase 2’s five years of task orders.

The Space Force has moved on to ordering new missions under an NSSL Phase 3 contract, but big ticket task orders have yet to be announced. Total values for the new orders have not been announced, but the entirety of Phase 2, which was split between just ULA and SpaceX, was worth $8.5 billion.

It did award smaller awards already under what it’s calling Lane 1 of the Phase 3 contract, which is designed to open up NSSL missions to newcomers such as Firefly Aerospace, Rocket Lab or Relativity Space eventually.

The first orders, though, including a pair of launches for the NRO, went to SpaceX.

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