The National Reconnaissance Office is getting ready to send the initial part of its latest picture-taking satellite group into space. The satellites were made by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman.
The NRO plans to launch mission NROL-146 on May 19 using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
At a House Armed Services Committee subcommittee hearing, Troy Meink, the NRO’s principal deputy director, stated that this will be the first official launch of the NRO’s new expanded system.
Meink mentioned that they have previously launched several demonstrations to confirm the cost and performance before this operational launch.
Details about the number of satellites and the size of the new constellation for the upcoming mission have not been revealed by the agency. However, Meink mentioned plans for six launches in 2024 for the NRO’s future expanded system of small satellites.
NRO plans to increase its satellites in orbit by four times.
Officials from the agency said this. The NRO aims to increase the number of spacecraft in orbit by four times, and with the new technology on the satellites, it is expected to result in a ten-fold increase in intelligence gathering for the agency. The use of smaller, more numerous satellites will allow for much more frequent passes over important areas, leading to quicker delivery of critical intelligence.
At the hearing, Meink stated that intelligence gathering from space has become a primary, if not the main, way of collecting information in places where access is restricted.
The satellites, constructed under a confidential $1.8 billion contract by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman in 2021, are ready to be launched. This is a contract that was first reported by Reuters in March. Troy Meink, the NRO’s principal deputy director, mentioned the agency's plan to launch NROL-146 on May 19.
