The space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities of the National Reconnaissance Office continue to grow with the launch of its NROL-126 mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Friday. The mission, which took off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, is also a partnership with the U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 30, NRO said.
NROL-126 is the fifth launch under the NRO’s proliferated architecture, described as the U.S. government’s largest constellation in history. It followed the NROL-167 mission sent into orbit on Oct. 24, positioning the proliferated architecture program for about six launches in 2024 and further missions toward 2028. According to NRO, the program’s next-generation ISR systems will help accelerate the delivery of the right data to the right user.
Commercial Players in the Mix
Commercial space companies have also been venturing into connectivity services on ISR communications for governments and militaries worldwide. In October, the NRO’s Office of Space Launch awarded Cognitive Space, Impulse Space and Starfish Space separate contracts to assess and evaluate advanced space technologies that can solve critical intelligence problems.
On a similar track, Viasat announced in July its Air-IQ offering that provides real-time intelligence access with uplink data transfer speeds of up to 10 megabits per second for improved situational awareness.