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On Wednesday, May 22 at 1:00 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 launched the NROL-146 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The mission was described as the first launch of NROs proliferated architecture, delivering critical space-based ISR to the nation. The NRO officials wrote that the motto describes the NRONROs new strategy of a proliferated overhead architecture numerous, smaller satellites designed for capability and resilience.

Because the mission was secretive there was no footage of the stages of the Falcon 9 rocket separating.

This was the 16th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, Transporter-9, and nine Starlink missions. This was the 52nd orbital liftoff for SpaceX in 2024 in which 36 have been dedicated to building the Starlink broadband constellation.

SpaceX is now targeting Wednesday, May 22 for a Falcon 9 launch of the NROL-146 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is aimed for 1:00 a.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 3:28 a.m. PT. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Thursday, May 23 starting at 1:14 a.m. PT.

A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about 10 minutes prior to liftoff. Watch live.

This is the 16th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, Transporter-9, and nine Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.Edit Post

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#NROL146 is scheduled to launch on a @SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base (@SLDelta30) May 19! This is the first launch of NROs proliferated architecture, delivering critical space-based ISR to the nation.

This is the first batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Gen. Stephen Whiting, #USSPACECOM commander, hosted the Spring 2024 Commanders Conference where component command teams, joint directors, and experts discussed major planning efforts, advancing USSPACECOMs mission to deter aggression in space.

Troy Meink, principal deputy director, spoke about #NROL146 at Space Symposium 39, This launch will be the first launch of an actual operational system. This system will increase timeliness of access, diversity of communication paths and enhance our resilience.

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UPDATE SpaceX launches NROL146 on next gen spy mission sending the first reconnaissance satellite constellation ... - SatNews

The Defense Department is working with Elon Musks SpaceX to find and disable Starlink satellite internet terminals that have fallen into Russian hands, but the problem is not going away, a top Pentagon official said Tuesday.

SpaceXs Starlink terminals enabled Ukrainian forces to communicate with each other and with their families after Russias 2022 invasion had shut down Ukraines internet and telephone services. But The Wall Street Journal reported in April that thousands of Starlink terminals have migrated to the black market, where Russia has obtained them and is using them to aid its operations in Ukraine.

Russias use of the system has reportedly slowed and disrupted the service for Ukrainians. Other U.S. foes and war criminals in the Mideast, Africa and Southeast Asia have also obtained the terminals, according to the report.

Reports indicate that Russia has been able to buy Starlink terminals on the black market and that SpaceX has not cut off their access, and that provides a major advantage to Russia on the battlefield, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said at a Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Warren wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III seeking answers about the diversion of hardware from SpaceX, a U.S. defense contractor.

Congress has a constitutional responsibility to make sure that taxpayer money does not go to companies that undermine U.S. national security goals, Warren said at Tuesdays hearing. So I think its critical that we get to the bottom of this.

John Hill, the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for space and missile defense, said in response to questions from Warren that the department is scouring classified and public data to find and shut down the terminals and suggested it has had some success. He said the push is partly led by a commercial integration cell composed of contractor and government personnel and located at the Combined Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

But Hill could not provide any guarantees about the extent to which the cat-and-mouse initiative would succeed in addressing the problem. When Warren asked Hill if he has confidence the Pentagon can identify illicit Russian use of Starlink services and completely shut them off, Hill responded, I think this will be a continuous problem.

To that, Warren replied, I take that as a no.

Hill assured Warren that SpaceX has been cooperative and forward leaning in assisting the search for illicit Starlink terminals.

SpaceX complies with our contracts, and they comply with the licenses they have from regulatory entities who can enforce those licenses, Hill added.

Read more:

Pentagon pursuing Russian use of Musks Starlink terminals - Roll Call

SpaceX continues gearing up for the fourth test flight of its Starship megarocket, which could be just around the corner.

Technicians recently stacked the Starship rocket that will conduct the flight, placing its "Ship" upper stage atop its "Super Heavy" first-stage booster on the orbital launch mount at SpaceX's Starbase site in South Texas. The company posted a video and photos of this operation, which was performed using the "chopstick" arms of Starbase's giant launch tower, on X yesterday (May 15).

"Full stack of Flight 4 Starship," SpaceX wrote in the post.

Related: Relive SpaceX Starship's 3rd flight test in breathtaking photos

Starship stacking is a dramatic and impressive sight. There's a striking juxtaposition of mechanical and natural beauty, for example, as a gleaming silver rocket rises amid shrub-studded seaside dunes. And that 400-foot-tall (122 meters) rocket is bigger and more powerful than any other launch vehicle humanity has ever built.

The stacking follows earlier testing performed separately with Flight 4's Super Heavy and Ship. SpaceX has already ignited the Raptor engines of both vehicles on the launch mount, in common and brief prelaunch trials known as static fires.

Starship's three test flights occurred in April 2023, November 2023 and March 14 of this year.

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

The giant rocket's performance has improved on each successive liftoff. The debut, for instance, ended after just four minutes when Starship's two stages failed to separate. Starship doubled that flight time on the second launch and also achieved stage separation. Flight number three lasted nearly 50 minutes, ending when Ship broke apart upon reentry to Earth's atmosphere.

Flight number four could lift off in just three to five weeks, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said recently.

There are still some logistical hurdles to clear, however: SpaceX applied for a Starship launchlicense modification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which is overseeing an investigation into what happened on the March 14 mission. That modification has apparently not been approved yet.

Read more here:

SpaceX stacks Starship megarocket ahead of 4th test flight (video, photos) - Space.com

A SpaceX Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch the NROL-146 spy satellite mission Wednesday at 1 a.m. fromSpace Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Instantaneous backup opportunities are available until 3:28 a.m., and if needed, opportunities for launch are also open Thursday starting at 1:14 a.m.

The rocket's second stage booster is expected to deliver to low-Earth orbit the first phase of small spy satellites purposed for construction of a government reconnaissance satellite constellation, according to reports.

Built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office, it is reported that the constellation will provide imaging and other national reconnaissance capabilities designed to increase data delivery over areas of interest.

Following stage separation, the first stage booster will land on the Of Course I Still Love You autonomous droneship to be stationed in the Pacific Ocean, for later retrieval.

The mission will mark the 16th flight for the first-stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, Transporter-9, and nine Starlink missions..

A live webcast of the mission will begin onwww.spacex.comandXapproximately 10 minutes prior to liftoff.

Lisa Andr covers lifestyle and local news for Santa Ynez Valley News and Lompoc Record, editions of the Santa Maria Times.

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SpaceX slated to launch batch of spy satellites from Vandenberg SFB Wednesday morning - Santa Ynez Valley News

U.Today - Tech centibillionaire Elon Musk has announced a major new milestone achieved by one of his largest and oldest companies SpaceX.

The community on the X platform, which also belongs to him, responded immediately, congratulating the hard working CEO. Among them were also crypto-themed accounts that made allegations about SpaceXs crypto holdings going up in the future.

Recently, as was announced by Elon Musk, this space-internet connection became available in Indonesia. Musk paid a visit to Bali as part of the promotion campaign.

Crypto user @XRPcryptowolf tweeted that he expects crypto held by SpaceX to go to moon. It is widely known that SpaceX holds and . As of March 1, SpaceX and Tesla (NASDAQ:) together hold $1.3 billion worth of Bitcoin, with more than half a million U.S. dollars in profits after the bull run that took place back then. As for DOGE, this is is the only cryptocurrency both SpaceX and Tesla accept for their merchandise in online shops.

The new feature will create photographic memories for users, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella claims. It will take screenshots of all user activity on a PC and then process it with AI. Users will be able to search through this archive later on, according to the idea.

Elon Musk responded, saying that this really looks like a Black Mirror episode a popular TV series about possible dystopian futures and the dominating role of technologies. Musk tweeted that he will certainly switch this feature off. CTO David Schwartz also questioned the point behind the creation of this feature, assuming that people would hardly want to use it.

Nadella, though, assumed everyone that Recall will operate locally and will not transfer personal user data from their PCs.

This article was originally published on U.Today

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SpaceX Hits Major Milestone, Community Expects DOGE to the Moon - Investing.com