A classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the predawn hours of Thursday, July 30, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
What Happened
The NROL-95 mission is targeting liftoff at 3:09 a.m. EDT (0709 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40. The Falcon 9 first stage booster assigned to the flight carries tail number B1096 and will attempt a landing at Landing Zone 2 approximately 8.5 minutes after liftoff. This would mark B1096's seventh flight, following previous missions that include NASA's IMAP and CRS-34, Kuiper Falcon 1, NROL-77, GPS III-9, and Starlink 6-87. The 45th Weather Squadron forecasts a 70 percent chance of favorable conditions during the launch window, though meteorologists are monitoring potential interference from cloud cover and thunderstorms.
Why It Matters
The NROL-95 mission represents the third payload SpaceX has launched for the NRO under the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contract managed by the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command. The task order was awarded to SpaceX in August 2024, underscoring the company's growing role in national security space missions. A successful landing would be the 18th at Landing Zone 2 and the 642nd booster landing for SpaceX overall.
The Bottom Line
Spaceflight Now is providing live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff from Cape Canaveral.