VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif., January 18, 2026, 03:27 PST
- SpaceX launched the NROL-105 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from California
- NRO called it the 12th launch for its “proliferated architecture” and flagged about a dozen missions planned in 2026
- Payload details, including satellite count and orbit specifics, were not disclosed
SpaceX launched a classified U.S. National Reconnaissance Office mission late Friday, sending the NROL-105 payload into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The spy-satellite agency said the Falcon 9 booster landed back at Landing Zone 4 after deploying the national security payload and called the flight the 12th launch supporting its proliferated architecture.
The launch feeds a push inside the NRO to field a “proliferated architecture” — many smaller satellites in low Earth orbit instead of a handful of big ones — as it tries to refresh how it collects and moves surveillance data. “Having hundreds of small satellites on orbit is invaluable to the NRO’s mission,” NRO Director Chris Scolese said in a press kit.
For military and intelligence customers, the bet is on volume: more spacecraft can cut the time between looks over the same area and make the network harder to disrupt. That matters now because the NRO has tied it to an aggressive launch schedule, not a slow rollout stretched over years.
SpaceX cut its webcast shortly after the booster landed, and neither it nor the NRO disclosed how many satellites were aboard or when they would be deployed, Space.com reported. The outlet said the proliferated-architecture spacecraft are built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman and described NROL-105 as the company’s first national security mission of 2026. (Space)
Spaceflight Now reported liftoff occurred at 8:39:51 p.m. Pacific time and identified the first-stage booster as B1100, on its second flight. The publication also said the NRO has procured Falcon 9 rides for the proliferated constellation outside the National Security Space Launch program, the Space Force’s main contract track for high-end payloads. (Spaceflightnow)
That helps explain why SpaceX’s Falcon 9 keeps showing up on intelligence launches even as the Space Force tries to maintain competition. United Launch Alliance, the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture, remains the other big U.S. provider for national security launches, but the proliferated constellation has leaned on Falcon 9’s reuse-driven pace.
The jargon can get thick. “Revisit rate” is simply how often a satellite can come back over the same location, and low Earth orbit means the spacecraft are closer to Earth and circle the planet quickly — useful, but it pushes operators toward larger constellations to maintain coverage.
The mission also lands in the middle of SpaceX’s steady cadence of Falcon 9 flights, including runs to expand its Starlink internet network. The government missions are different in tone and secrecy, but they draw on the same rocket factory and the same launch sites.
In a mission brief, the NRO described the NROL-105 emblem with the tagline “Strength in Numbers,” a nod to the agency’s bet on a constellation of many small spacecraft. It did not publish payload details. (National Reconnaissance Office)
But much of the mission will stay opaque. Classified payloads leave outside observers little ability to confirm satellite deployment, and any launch mishap or extended ground hold on Falcon 9 would ripple across a packed calendar that mixes government flights with commercial ones.
For now, the NRO is leaning into volume and repetition, saying more proliferated launches are planned through the end of the decade as it expands what it calls a growing constellation. SpaceX, with reuse now routine on Falcon 9, is positioned to keep collecting those missions.
