SpaceX launches next-gen US spy satellites VIDEO

SpaceX launched a pioneering set of spy satellites for the US government early on the morning of May 22.

A Falcon 9 rocket hoisted the NROL-146 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to space after liftoff from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Liftoff of the @NatReconOfc NROL-146 mission! pic.twitter.com/DYpkHpZPx8

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 22, 2024

According to Space.com, the payloads sent to space as part of the NROL-146, mission are unknown which isn't surprising; the NRO typically reveals little about its satellites' activities and capabilities. For the same reason, there was no footage of the stages of the Falcon 9 rocket separating.

Around six minutes after launch the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket began its entry burn and its return to Earth.

The first stage touched down on the drone ship, "Of Course, I Still Love You" stationed in the Pacific Ocean around nine minutes after launch. This was the 16th launch and landing for this particular Falcon 9 first-stage rocket.

In a mission description, NRO states that NROL-146 will be "the first launch of NRO's proliferated architecture." The agency explains a bit more about that architecture when discussing the mission's tagline, "Strength in Numbers."