The Vandenberg launch site in California hosted the launch of yet another secret satellite payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). This time the mission was dubbed NRO L-87 and it was launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 launch vehicle at 2027 GMT on 2 February. Details about the launch remain sketchy but the payload is believed to have been deployed into a circa 500 km Sun-synchronous low Earth orbit. It is thought to be a new generation optical Earth observation reconnaissance satellite.
Screen shot showing Falcon 9 rocket ready for its launch of NRO L-87 from Vandenberg. Image: SpaceX
The launch also included the landing of the first stage booster B1071 which was on its first flight. The stage landing was on land at the LZ-4 landing site near to the launch pad overlooking the Pacific on the coast of California.
Closeup remote shot of F9 booster landing and crew walking around it afterward for a sense of scale. @NASASpaceflight @SpaceX pic.twitter.com/1puV53vf7j
— Jay L. DeShetler (@jdeshetler) February 3, 2022
