NRO Confirms Its LEO-Based Constellation Supports GMTI Mission

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg SFB, California, on May 11, 2026, carrying the NROL-172 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. Credit: SpaceX

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg SFB, California, on May 11, carrying the NROL-172 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Credit: SpaceX
The National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) proliferated satellite architecture, now boasting hundreds of satellites, is supporting a new mission area for space-based sensing and targeting, the agency says. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the agency’s NROL-172 mission was launched May 11 at 10:13 p...
Vivienne Machi

Vivienne Machi is the military space editor for Aviation Week based in Los Angeles.

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