SpaceX gets ready to launch classified payload for US government - TWIRL #206

TWIRL logo in front of galaxy

We have quite a run-of-the-mill launch schedule coming up This Week in Rocket Launches. All the launches this week are satellite launches; potentially, the most interesting is the classified NROL-69 mission being done by SpaceX for the National Reconnaissance Office. It’ll be interesting because we are not sure what’s being launched.

Monday, 24 March

Who: SpaceX
What: Falcon 9
When: 17:48 UTC
Where: Florida, US
Why: SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 carrying the classified NROL-69 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. Following the launch of the mission, the first stage of the Falcon 9 will likely perform a landing.

Wednesday, 26 March

Who: Firefly Aerospace
What: Alpha
When: 13:37 – 15:17 UTC
Where: California, US
Why: Firefly Aerospace will use an Alpha rocket to launch LM 400, a technology demonstration satellite from Lockheed Martin. The LM 400 is intended to be a highly adaptable satellite bus suitable for military, commercial, and civil applications.

Who: China
What: Long March 3B/E
When: 16:00 UTC
Where: Xichang Satellite Launch Center
Why: China will launch a Long March 3B/E rocket carrying an unknown payload.

Who: SpaceX
What: Falcon 9
When: 22:00 – 02:00 UTC
Where: California, US
Why: SpaceX will use a Falcon 9 to launch 23 Starlink satellites to a low Earth orbit. This is Starlink Group 11-7. After the launch, the first stage of the rocket will likely attempt a landing so that it can be reused.

Saturday, 29 March

Who: China
What: Long March 7A
When: 16:30 UTC
Where: Wenchang Satellite Launch Center
Why: This mission is expected to see the launch of Chinasat 4B. This communications and broadcasting satellite will provide voice, data, radio, and television transmission services.

Recap

The first launch we got last week took off from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. An Angara 1.2 rocket was used to launch three Rodnik-S communications satellites for the Russian military.
The second launch saw the Chinese firm Galactic Energy launch the Ceres 1. It was carrying two satellites of the AIRSAT constellation and was equipped with multispectral camera payloads, offering 2m resolution imaging capabilities.

Next up, Rocket Lab launched an Electron rocket carrying Kineis satellites, which will provide IoT communications services.

The fourth launch came from SpaceX, which launched a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink Group 12-25. There were 23 Starlinks aboard, including 13 Direct-to-Cell satellites.

The following launch was another Falcon 9 from SpaceX, but this time, it was carrying the classified NROL-57 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.

In the final mission of the week, Galactic Energy launched a Ceres 1 rocket carrying six Yunyao meteorological satellites. The satellites carry GNSS occultation or long-wave infrared camera payloads to provide meteorological data.