Email A sixth and final National Reconnaissance Office mission of 2024 was conducted from Vandenberg Space Force Base Tuesday morning. SpaceX, Contributed Save Locals were rattled awake Tuesday morning by a Falcon 9 rocket blasting off from Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 5:19 a.m., to complete the sixth and final National Reconnaissance Office mission of 2024. The agency, supported by U.S. Space Force Space Launch Delta 30 and SpaceX, released a post-launch statement confirming mission success. "NRO celebrates the completion of an especially dynamic 18-month period, beginning with NROL-68 in June 2023 and ending now in December 2024 with NROL-149. During this period, 10 missions have launched, successfully delivering more than 100 payloads on orbit." The agency continues construction of its operational proliferated architecture — the largest-ever satellite constellation supporting U.S. intelligence, military, civil, and allied partners by providing access to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems. Launch of the NROL-149 mission on Tuesday marked the sixth of such missions supporting the NRO's proliferated architecture, with a previous launch from Vandenberg occurring on Nov. 30. Additional launches are anticipated through 2028, with information to be available at NRO.gov/launch. A Falcon 9 rocket blasts off Tuesday morning from Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base, completing the sixth and final National Reconnaissance Office mission of 2024. SpaceX, Contributed Lisa André covers lifestyle and local news for the Santa Ynez Valley News and Lompoc Record, editions of the Santa Maria Times. She can be reached at landre@syvnews.com Love