SpaceNews: US achieves historic milestone, deploying over 200 satellites in two years

The US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has reached a significant milestone, successfully deploying over 200 satellites into orbit in just slightly more than two years.

This achievement comes following the launch of the classified NROL-145 mission on April 20, which adds to the growing capabilities of the US government’s surveillance infrastructure, Caliber.Az reports, citing SpaceNews.

The NROL-145 mission lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 8:29 a.m. Eastern. This launch marks the 10th satellite deployment by SpaceX for the NRO’s proliferated architecture, which includes Starshield imaging satellites developed by SpaceX in collaboration with Northrop Grumman. The NRO's "proliferated architecture" approach involves deploying a large network of smaller satellites instead of fewer large ones.

This strategy enhances the resilience of the network, making it more robust against potential threats while also offering broader and more comprehensive coverage across various regions. The NRO, responsible for designing and operating classified US government surveillance and intelligence satellites, is working on deploying a vast network designed to track ground targets in near real-time.

The recent mission also marked the first launch awarded by the US Space Force under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 program. The NROL-145 task order was one of nine contracts awarded to SpaceX in October 2024. “This was our first Phase 3 launch, coming only months after establishing this new contract,” said Col. Jim Horne, senior materiel leader for launch execution at the Space Systems Command. “We are excited to see this collaboration move forward.” 

Horne also pointed out that 44 missions from the previous NSSL Phase 2 contract are still pending, most of which were awarded to United Launch Alliance (ULA). ULA's new Vulcan rocket is set to conduct its first NSSL mission later this summer.

In its news release, the NRO highlighted that the NSSL is just one of several acquisition strategies used to deploy its satellites. The agency has also launched satellites through commercial contracts with companies like SpaceX and Rocket Lab, and more recently, with Northrop Grumman’s Minotaur IV solid-fueled rocket for a mission under a separate contract with the Space Force designed for small rockets. 

“Over the past two years, NRO has launched more than 200 satellites, creating the largest and most capable government constellation on orbit in our nation’s history,” the NRO stated. Looking ahead, “2025 is set to be another dynamic year, with approximately one dozen NRO launches scheduled. Half of these launches will focus on advancing the NRO’s proliferated architecture, with additional proliferated launches planned through 2029.”

By Naila Huseynova