Will Robinson-Smith A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket supporting the NROL-77 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office stands in launch position at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Dec. 7, 2025. Image: SpaceX SpaceX is preparing for the launch of a national security payload for the nation’s secretive spy satellite agency, the National Reconnaissance Office. The flight will also likely see the the final Falcon 9 booster recovery at Landing Zone 2 at Cape Canaveral. The mission, dubbed National Reconnaissance Office Launch 77 (NROL-77), includes at least one payload, which the intelligence-gathering agency only describes as being “designed, built, and operated by NRO.” Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for 2:16 p.m. EST (1916 UTC). The launch will follow a north-easterly trajectory upon leaving Florida’s Space Coast. Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour before launch. SpaceX is using Falcon 9 first stage booster B1096. This will be its fourth launch after previously flying NASA’s IMAP, Amazon’s Kuiper Falcon 01 and Starlink 6-87. Nearly eight and a half minutes after liftoff, B1096 will target a return to the Florida Peninsula with a touchdown at Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2). If successful, the will be the 16th touchdown at LZ-2 and the 547th booster landing to date for SpaceX. A SpaceX-designed mission patch for the NROL-77 mission. Graphic: SpaceX Executing a contract The NROL-77 mission is the second NRO mission launched by SpaceX as part of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2 contract awarded in August 2020. The contract was broken up to assign missions between SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA) over five order years for specific missions. This is the first mission that comes from Order Year 5 that was announced on Oct. 31, 2023. It was one of ten missions assigned to SpaceX that year, which has a combined value of $1.236 billion. The NSSL Phase 2 contract is an acquisition partnership managed by the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command’s Assured Access to Space. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket supporting the NROL-77 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office stands in launch position at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Dec. 7, 2025. Image: SpaceX Some missions though, like the NROL-146 mission and other flights supporting the NRO’s so-called proliferated architecture satellite constellation, are funded through other avenues that are part of the agency’s classified budget. “When considering our launch cadence and need for tailorable mission assurance, the NRO recognized that we needed a bridge between Phase 2 to Phase 3 – Lane 1,” an NRO spokesperson said in a statement to Spaceflight Now back in May 2024. “This resulted in some missions being procured outside of NSSL.” The NRO said in its press kit that NROL-77 is its tenth and final launch of 2025, nine of which flew on Falcon 9 rockets: Jan. 09 – NROL-153