SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled to launch a classified mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, marking the first time the heavy-lift vehicle has been used for the U.S. spy satellite agency. The mission, codenamed NROL-97, is set to lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:54 p.m. EDT Thursday (0354 UTC).
Based on hazard warnings issued to aircraft and sea vessels, the rocket is expected to take a north-easterly trajectory after departing the Space Coast. The NRO has previously flown payloads on 22 Falcon 9 rockets, but this is the first time it has selected the Falcon Heavy, which consists of three Falcon 9 boosters and an upper stage topped by a payload fairing.
The powerful rocket, which lifts off under the power of 27 Merlin 1D engines, was introduced in 2018 and will be making its 14th flight. Like most NRO missions, little is publicly known about the nature of the payload. It is the first NRO mission to fly after being procured in 2025 through the competitive National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 2 contract.
The Falcon Heavy core stage, serial number B1106, is brand new and will be expended on this mission. The rocket's side boosters both flew just a month ago to launch NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. B1104 is making its second flight and B1072 is on its fourth mission. The side boosters will return to Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX returned LZ-1 to service for this mission after it was replaced by LZ-40 at Space Launch Complex 40. However, that landing pad was used earlier Thursday by the booster returning from launching the Crew 13 mission. The NRO said the payload fairing was previously used on the NROL-95 mission in July.
NROL-97 will be SpaceX's third Falcon launch of the day. In addition to the Crew 13 mission, the company launched 130 payloads on the Transporter 13 rideshare mission from its West Coast pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It will be the first time the company has landed four boosters in a single day.
The Crew 13 mission, which launched four astronauts to the International Space Station, is expected to stretch until spring. Among the crew is a Canadian astronaut whose wife will give birth while he is away.
SpaceX adjusted the T-0 liftoff time for NROL-97, and Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about two hours prior to liftoff. The mission underscores the growing role of commercial heavy-lift rockets in national security space launches.
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