Photo: Charles Boyer
SpaceX launched a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office today aboard Falcon 9.
Liftoff was at 02:16:25pm ET into leaden skies, with the rocket quickly behind the clouds, probably much to the delight of NRO. The launch direction was northeast.
At T+08:17s was NROL-77 was in its initial orbit and roughly eleven seconds later, Booster 1096 returned to land safely at LZ-2 inside Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at T+08:28s.
That, in a nutshell, is pretty much all that’s publicly known about the mission.
At 6:00 PM NRO announced the mission was a success.
Photo: Charles Boyer
Launch Replay
Next Launch
Next Launch: Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 6-90
Go for Launch • Cape Canaveral SFS • SLC-40
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Mission | Starlink Group 6-90 (29 satellites) |
| Organization | SpaceX |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 |
| Launch Site | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida |
| Pad | Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) |
| Window Opens | Thursday, 12/11/2025 1:59:00 PM (ET) |
| Window Closes | Thursday, 12/11/2025 5:59:00 PM (ET) |
| Destination | Low Earth Orbit |
| Status Info | Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources. |
| Mission Description | A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation — SpaceX’s space-based Internet communication system. |
| Countdown (to window open) | — |
Author: Charles Boyer
NASA kid from Cocoa Beach, FL, born of Project Apollo parents and family. I’m a writer and photographer sharing the story of spaceflight from the Eastern Range here in Florida.
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