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Wednesday 7 October 2026

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy flies its first mission for the NRO

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launched NROL-97 on 1 October, the spy agency's first Heavy mission, using side boosters back from the Roman launch a month earlier.

Harper Quinn Saturday 3 October 2026, open calendar5 min read

Photo: Kim Shiflett / NASA / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

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SpaceX's Falcon Heavy has flown its first mission for America's spy satellite agency. The rocket carried the classified NROL-97 payload for the National Reconnaissance Office off Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 11:54pm Eastern on Thursday 1 October. That was 1:24pm Friday in Adelaide.

A Falcon Heavy rocket lifting off from Launch Complex 39A in Florida amid clouds of exhaust — Photo: Kim Shiflett / NASA / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

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SpaceX: NROL-97 mission page

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Harper Quinn Saturday 3 October 2026 at 3:21 pm Adelaide, open calendar5 min read

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