SpaceX launches Starshield satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from California for the NRO

Update 10:37 a.m. EST (1537 UTC): The first stage booster successfully landed on the droneship.

Before sunrise Tuesday morning, SpaceX completed its final mission supporting the National Reconnaissance Office in 2024.

The Falcon 9 rocket supporting the NROL-149 mission lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at 5:19 a.m. PST (8:19 a.m. EST, 1319 UTC).

The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, B1063, made its 22nd flight on this mission. It’s previous flights included NROL-113, NROL167, DART and 14 Starlink missions.

A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1063 touched down on the SpaceX droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ This marked the 114th booster landing on OCISLY and the 384th booster landing to date.

Onboard the rocket are an undisclosed number of satellites, which are believed to be Starshield, the government variant of the Starlink satellites.