Falcon 9 launches the
National Reconnaissance Office’s NROL-149 mission from California on Dec. 17. Photo: SpaceX

SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 national security missions back-to-back from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California between Monday night and Tuesday morning, followed by an O3b mPOWER launch for SES on Tuesday. 

On Monday evening at 7:52 p.m. ET, SpaceX launched the seventh GPS III satellite in a new accelerated timeline mission called RRT-1 — Rapid Response Trailblazer. 

Space Systems Command called this a “first of its kind” National Security Space Launch for its rapid response schedule as it was executed in less than five months. The satellite was originally planned to be launched by ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket, which has been delayed in receiving NSSL certification. 

Col. Jim Horne, senior materiel leader of Launch Execution for SSC’s Assured Access to Space (AATS) said in a release that revised planning for this RRT began five months before launch, instead of the normal timeline of about 24 months to launch. 

“This launch was a remarkable achievement that highlights the Space Force’s ability to execute high priority launches of major space systems on a significantly reduced timescale. As an added benefit, it also demonstrates flexibility to adjust our manifest to minimize the impact of Vulcan delays,” Horne said. 

Spacecraft prime contractor Lockheed Martin confirmed signal acquisition on the GPS III vehicle after launch. 

Then on Tuesday morning at 8:19 a.m. ET, SpaceX launched the classified NROL-149 mission. The NRO confirmed the mission and said it is the sixth launch for the NRO’s proliferated architecture. The NRO has said this proliferated constellation will be “the U.S. government’s largest satellite constellation in history.”

O3b mPOWER Launch for SES

On Tuesday evening, SpaceX launched the seventh and eighth satellites in SES’s O3b mPOWER constellation in another Falcon 9 mission from Florida. The mission lifted off at 5:26 p.m. ET on Tuesday, and the satellites deployed about two hours into the mission.

Manufacturer Boeing confirmed post-launch that the satellites are sending and receiving signals.

The satellites will add to SES’s next-generation Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) constellation which entered service in April of this year. Some of the constellation’s customers include Microsoft, Princess Cruises, Marlink, and governments including the U.S. and Luxembourg.

These two satellites have redesigned payload power modules compared to the first six satellites, four of which experienced issues with their power modules. SES and Boeing reached a deal last year after the issues to upgrade satellites seven through 11 and add an additional two more satellites to the constellation.

“O3b mPOWER is our most powerful, technically advanced, flexible satellite constellation in space,” SES CEO Adel al Saleh commented. “As we increase the number of satellites in our constellation, we also exponentially increase the capacity and efficiency of our network. Ever since the start of service of O3b mPOWER earlier this year, we have seen how it has become an integral part of the connectivity experience of our customers.”