Falcon 9 launch of NROL-172 Mission scheduled from Vandenberg Space Force Base Monday

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (KEYT) – A Falcon 9 launch of NROL-172 mission is scheduled from Vandenberg SFB on Monday, May 11, between 3:28 p.m. and 7:28 p.m. Pacific Time.

A backup launch window has been designated for the following day from Vandenberg SFB on Tuesday, May 12, beginning at 3:15 p.m. Pacific Time.

A live webcast of the launch will begin about ten minutes before liftoff that you can watch here or on SpaceX's X/Twitter account.

The mission, on behalf of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, will add to the existing proliferated architecture of orbiting platforms that started on May 22, 2024 with the launch of NROL-146.

Monday's launch will be the second launch on behalf of the federal agency this year.

"Having hundreds of small satellites on orbit is invaluable to the NRO's mission," stated Dr. Chris Scolese, Director of the National Reconnaissance Office. "They will provide greater revisit rates, increased coverage, more timely delivery of information—and ultimately help us deliver more of what our customers need even faster."

Following first-stage separation, the booster assigned to this mission will return to Earth to land on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship awaiting in the Pacific Ocean.

A depiction of that launch sequence is shown in the image below.

There is the potential for one or more sonic booms associated with the launch to be heard across the region, but how far the sound travels will depend on weather and other conditions at the time.

This will be the second flight for the Falcon 9 on this launch. The booster previously supported a Starlink satellite mission shared SpaceX.