SpaceX dispatched a secret U.S. spy satellite into space for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Saturday (Dec. 19), denoting its 26th rocket of the year.
The secretive payload, called NROL-108, lifted off from Pad 39A here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 9 a.m. (1400 GMT), during an arranged three-hour dispatch window.
A pre-owned two-stage Falcon 9 rocket conveyed the covert operative satellite overtop, as a component of an administration mission called NROL-108, denoting SpaceX’s 26th dispatch of 2020, another record for the organization. Around nine minutes after takeoff, the sponsor’s first stage delivered some sensational sonic blasts as it advanced back to firm ground, landing at SpaceX’s Landing Zone-1 (LZ-1) at the close by Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Here are some images shared by SpaceX from its Twitter handle and also shared a link of Flickr:
