One week after the mission’s signals first appeared, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has confirmed that SpaceX’s secret October launch will feature a new spy satellite.
Known as NROL-108, the mission is interesting for a number of reasons, including its implicit launch, the rocket’s probability of its launch, and the secrecy surrounding it. Both NROs launch satellites and what the agency usually does are both highly confidential, U.S. It is highly unusual for the government to remain secretive just a month before the liftoff for any kind of launch.
For SpaceX, the mysterious Zuma mission is the only U.S. mission in recent memory that tops the level of secrecy NROL-108, leaving it undecided. And Without claim by any government agency before, during and after the launch. However, a separate launch, completed almost half a year before Zuma, helps shed light on SpaceX’s latest surprise deal.
The only mission reminiscent of NROL-108 is SpaceX’s NRO – the first launch for NROL-76 for. Launched in May 2017, Payload – considered to be involved in testing the proximity of any type of Lower Orbit (LEO) – is classified and almost a mystery to this day. The most remarkable thing about this mission was that the spacecraft passed frequently close to the International Space Station (ISS) – NASA and Russia have strict control over what can and cannot reach the crude outpost.
Like the NROL-76 Like, the NROL-1a will land on a Falcon rocket, while the mission booster will be allowed to try for a return-to-launch-site (RTLS) landing on the ground. For the Falcon 9, the RTLS booster landing basically indicates that the starting payload is lightweight, leading to LEO, or in some combination of both. While NROL-76 was similar in that respect, NRO revealed NROL-76 and confirmed that SpaceX would launch a full mission 10 months before the launch date.
For NROL-108, the NRO only confirmed its SpaceX launch plans Then The FCC documents revealed some sort of mysterious mission scheduled for October 20, 2020. Even for NROs, launching less than a month before the liftoff is completely unusual.
Also unusual: SpaceX will somehow mark the opening of the NROL-105 spy agency on a commercial flight-proof rocket, excluding the system-cutting system of building-sized Falcon 9 boosters from Los Angeles to Cape Canaveral. SpaceX technically has at least three new Falcon 9 boosters at various stages of NASA and US military readiness in October TBD (GPS III SV04) and November (Crew-1, Sentinel 6A), but all three will speak for themselves.
According to the official confirmation of NRO with spaceflight, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is to launch NROL-108 before October 25 (NET). The company is facing an extended Q42020 manifesto, which includes GPS. III SV04 (October October TBD), Sirius XM’s new radio satellite (early November), Sentinel 6A ocean satellite satellite (Net November 10), Crew Dragon’s first operational astronaut launch (NET). Mid-November), the first launch of Cargo Dragon 2 (NET November 22), a Turkish communications satellite (NET November 30), and many more Starlink missions.
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