Rocket Lab plans to launch a classified mission from the NASA Wallops Mid-Atlantic spaceport on the Virginia Coast on March 20. As part of NROL-123, an Electron-type rocket will carry a classified payload to space for the National Reconnaissance Office.
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. federal government, and provides satellite intelligence to several government agencies.
Due to the sensitive nature of this mission, no details on the payload contents are known. NASA Wallops says their facility will not be open for visitors to observe the launch. A specific launch time also is not being announced, although NASA says that a launch window of 2:15 – 6:30 am will be open and the rocket could launch at anytime during that window on March 20. While there is a shroud of secrecy around mission specifics, Rocket Lab said they would stream the launch on their website at rocketlabusa.com.
Rocket Lab has named this launch mission “Live and Let Fly.” This March 20 launch will be Rocket Lab’s first for the NRO from the United States after previously launching 4 NRO missions from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. It will be Rocket Lab’s 4th mission from Launch Complex 2, a dedicated pad for the Electron rocket located at Virginia Spaceport Authority’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
“Electron has been providing reliable access to orbit for the NRO since 2020 and we’re honored to once again provide critical launch capability, this time from U.S. soil,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “The ability to reliably launch national security missions from pads in two countries is a unique one that offers a rare level of responsiveness and resiliency for small satellite launch. We’re immensely proud to deliver this capability to the NRO, enabling them to maintain the nation’s advantage in space.”
To date, the Electron rocket has had 44 launches to date, helping deploy 177 satellites successfully into their orbit. The Electron rocket has a height of 59 feet and a diameter of 3.9 feet; the carbon-composite structure can send a 661 pound payload to Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO.) This rocket uses a mixture of liquid oxygen and kerosene as its propellant.
Because this rocket is launching before sunrise, it could be visible to those in portions of the Mid Atlantic. Because this rocket is much smaller than the Antares rocket that also lifts off from NASA Wallops for International Space Station-related missions, the Electron will be visible across a smaller area than Antares.
