SpaceX - Falcon 9 - NROL-145 - SLC-4E - Vandenberg SFB - April 20, 2025

Launch Date: April 20, 2025
Launch Time: 5:29 a.m. PDT, 1229 UTC, 14:29 CEST
Launch Window: Open until 7:27 a.m. PDT
Launch Site: SLC-4E - Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, USA
Targeted Orbit: Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
Launch Inclination: Southeast
Launch Status: Nominal parking orbit
Droneship: Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY)

Mission: NROL-145
Launch Provider: SpaceX
Launch Contractor: National Reconnaissance Office
Launcher System: Falcon 9 (Booster B1082 - Turnaround 56 days)
Flight for the Booster: 12
Previous Flights of the Booster: 11 - USSF-62, OneWeb Launch 20, and nine Starlink missions

Price: $69,75 million (without payload)
Diameter: 3,7 m
Height: 70 m
Payload to Orbit: 22,800 LEO / 8,300 GTO
Lift-Off Thrust: 7,607 kilonewtons
Fairing: Diameter 5,2 meters / Height 13 meters
Stages: 2

SpaceX targets April 20, 2025, to launch a Falcon 9 with the NROL-145 mission, a mission for the National Reconnaissance Office of the United States. The payload is classified; it is to be expected that it will carry the 9th batch of "Starshield" satellites to Low Earth Orbit. Starshield is the military version of Starlink. The satellites are built by SpaceX with Northrop Grumman. The lift-off is scheduled 5:29 a.m. PDT, 1229 UTC, 14:29 CEST, in a launch window open until 7:27 a.m. PDT.

This is the 12th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched USSF-62, OneWeb Launch 20, and nine Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

Because the mission is classified, no video from the second stage after stage separation will be provided.

There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.

Countdown
Hr/Min/Sec Event
00:38:00 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
00:35:00 RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins
00:35:00 1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins
00:16:00 2nd stage LOX loading begins
00:07:00 Falcon 9 begins engine chill before launch
00:01:00 Command flight computer to begin final pre-launch checks
00:01:00 Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins
00:00:45 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
00:00:03 Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
00:00:00 Falcon 9 liftoff