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Additional Media

Live: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from California on a mission for U.S. spy satellite agency

Watch live coverage as SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket from California on a mission for America's spy satellite agency, the National Reconnaissance Office. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled for Monday, May 11 at 7:13:50 p.m. PDT / 10:13:50 p.m. EDT …

NROL-172 Mission

Livestream on X

SpaceX

SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.

NROL-172

Overview

Destination: Unknown
Mission: Government/Top Secret

Unknown Space Launch Complex 4E Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
B1097 - Of Course I Still Love You

Thirteenth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to provide imaging and other reconnaissance capabilities.

Telemetry

Launch trajectory and telemetry simulations provided by Flight Club - a rocket launch simulator and orbital trajectory visualiser for all things space!

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • May 12, 2026, 4:04 a.m.

Launch success.


LL2 • May 12, 2026, 2:14 a.m.

Unofficial Re-stream by SPACE AFFAIRS has started


Cosmic_Penguin • May 12, 2026, 2:14 a.m.

Liftoff.


LL2 • May 12, 2026, 1:59 a.m.

Unofficial Re-stream by SPACE AFFAIRS has started


hitura-nobad • May 11, 2026, 8:48 a.m.

Now targeting May 12 at 02:13 UTC


Falcon 9

Family:
Configuration: Block 5

Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    70.0 m
  • Diameter
    3.65 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.2 m
  • Launch Mass
    549.0 T
  • Thrust
    7607.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Falcon 9
  • Family
  • Variant
    Block 5
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Falcon 9 Block 5
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $52000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    22800.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    8300.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Booster Info


B1097

Status: Active


Type: Core
Flight Proven: Yes
First Flight: September 3, 2025
Last Flight: June 7, 2026
Flights: 10
Landings Attempted: 10
Landings Successful: 10
Previous B1097 Flights

Landing Information

The Falcon 9 first stage B1097 has landed on ASDS OCISLY after its 9th flight.

Result: Successful Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship landing at Of Course I Still Love You.

SpaceX

SpaceX

(SpX)

CEO: Elon Musk Founded: 2002 Successes: 671 Failures: 15 Pending: 134

Agency Type:

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.

INFO WIKI

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