Mission Highlight: NROL-105
SpaceX plans to launch the NROL-105 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on Friday, Jan. 16, at 11:18 p.m. EST. The Falcon 9 will lift off from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The NRO is the U.S. government agency responsible for developing, launching, and operating the nation’s reconnaissance satellites. These systems provide intelligence for a range of users, including the intelligence community, as well as civilian agencies assisting with natural disaster response. To address what the NRO labels “ever-evolving threats,” the agency is modernizing its architecture to deliver signals and images with increased frequency and resilience.
This shift toward a so-called “proliferated architecture” began on May 22, 2024, with the launch of NROL-146. Since then, the NRO has conducted 11 successful missions to expand this system through 2025. This strategy utilizes a mix of large and small spacecraft across multiple orbits to eliminate single points of failure. The agency plans to launch approximately six additional missions for this architecture in 2026, with the deployment of hundreds of satellites continuing through 2029.
The NROL-105 mission emblem reflects this transition. It features small blue circles, representing the proliferation of satellites, surrounding a central black circle to suggest an eye’s iris and pupil. This design symbolizes the agency’s surveillance capabilities from space.
The Falcon 9 first-stage booster used for this flight previously launched one Starlink mission. SpaceX intends to land the booster at Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg. Residents in the surrounding counties may hear sonic booms during the return.
Other missions this week
Early on Monday, Jan. 12, CAS Space, a commercial launch provider owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, conducted a suborbital test flight of its Lihong-1 Y1 spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The vehicle reached an altitude of approximately 74.5 miles (120 kilometers) before its payload capsule returned via parachute, as reported by Xinhua. The mission verified landing control technology and payload recovery. Onboard payloads included rose seeds for radiation studies and laser additive manufacturing equipment for future use in microgravity. The developer stated in a post to WeChat that the test supports plans for space tourism and orbital manufacturing.
Later on Monday, Jan. 12, a Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch Starlink Group 6-97 at 1:59 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Following stage separation, the booster is expected to land on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions.
On Tuesday, Jan. 13, a Long March 8A is slated to launch from the Wenchang Space Launch Site at 10:45 a.m. EST as reported by Next Spaceflight. The mission carries an unstated payload for the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
On Wednesday, Jan. 14, the launch cadence continues with Starlink Group 6-98 departing from Cape Canaveral at 1:01 p.m. EST. SpaceX plans to land the first-stage booster on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas.
On Thursday, Jan. 15, China has two missions scheduled, as reported by Next Spaceflight. A Long March 3B/E will lift off from Xichang at 11:00 a.m. EST, followed by a Ceres 1S sea-launch from the Haiyang Oriental Spaceport at 2:30 p.m. EST.
On Saturday, Jan. 17, Isar Aerospace is preparing for “Flight Two” of its Spectrum rocket from the Andøya Rocket Range in Norway. This mission is a developmental test flight for the European launch provider.
On Sunday, Jan. 18, the week concludes with the launch of Starlink Group 6-100 at 5:04 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral. The booster is scheduled to land on A Shortfall of Gravitas.
Last week’s recap
SpaceX completed the Twilight rideshare mission on Jan. 11, which placed NASA’s Pandora satellite and other payloads into orbit. The company also successfully launched the Starlink Group 6-96 mission on Jan. 9.
However, India’s PSLV-C62 mission on Jan. 11 failed to reach orbit. The rocket was carrying the EOS-N1 hyperspectral imaging satellite. In a press conference following the launch, ISRO Director V. Narayanan reported that the first and second stages functioned correctly, but a roll-rate disturbance occurred late in the third-stage burn. This caused the vehicle to deviate from its intended flight path. Engineers are currently reviewing flight data to identify the cause of the anomaly.
Looking ahead
On Wednesday, Jan. 21, Blue Origin is targeting an 8:30 a.m. EST launch for the NS-38 suborbital mission from West Texas. Later that evening at 9:43 p.m. EST, SpaceX is scheduled to launch Starlink Group 17-30 from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
