USA 354, ..., TBD (NROL 146, 186, 113, 167) (original) (raw)

Starshield (generic) [SpaceX]

The NROL-146 mission consisted of an undisclosed number of small spacecraft into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office's proliferated architecture of small satellites.

NROL-146 represents the first launch of an operational system following several demonstrations in recent years (USA 320, ..., 323, 328, ..., 331, 350, 351) to verify cost and performance. Smaller, more numerous satellites will allow for far more frequent revisits of critical areas of interest, leading to faster delivery of crucial intelligence.

It is likely, that the satellites were built by SpaceX based on their Starshield busses. Based on the size of Starshield, the number of satellites on the lanch may be around 20.

It is not known, which kind of intelligence gathering sensors are on these satellites.

• The first batch of 21 satellites, called the NROL-146 launch, was launched on 22 May 2024 on a Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) launch into a 70� orbit. Early observations show 21 objects in orbit.
• A second batch of 21 satellites, called the NROL-186 launch, launched in June 2024, is assumed to be similar.
• A third batch of 21 satellites, called the NROL-113 launch, launched in August 2024, is also assumed to be part of this constellation.
• The 4th batch, called the NROL-167 launch, launched in October 2024 consisted only of 17 satellites.

Note: The NROL designations refer to the launch, not to the payload.

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