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NROL-69: SpaceX launches US spy satellites, on Falcon liftoff 19th anniversary
March 25, 2025
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on March 24, at 1748 UTC on the NROL-69 mission, carrying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The Falcon 9 first-stage booster (B1092) landed as expected, at Landing Zone 1, triggering sonic booms heard in parts of Central Florida.

The mission is part of the National Security Space Launch(NSSL) program, and the NRO partnered with the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command for this launch.

The mission logo features an origami hummingbird with the Latin phrase "Numquan Hibernare," meaning "never hibernate," symbolizing the speed and agility of the NRO's operations

"The Hummingbird illustrates the speed and agility with which we provide an advantage to the nation and its allies," the NRO's mission description reads. "'Numquan hibernare' is Latin for 'Never hibernate.' Our bird is ever vigilant."

We don't know what orbit NROL-69 is targeting. SpaceX does not normally provide that payload information during national security missions, and the company cut off its webcast at the NRO's request about nine minutes after launch, following the Falcon 9 first stage's successful touchdown.

SpaceX has launched two other NRO missions so far in 2025 — NROL-153 in January and NROL-57 this past Friday (March 21). The company set a new rocket reuse record on NROL-57, flying the same Falcon 9 first stage for the second time in just nine days.

Both NROL-153 and NROL-57 were dedicated to building out the NRO's "proliferated architecture," a large constellation of relatively small, cost-effective satellites that's designed to increase resilience, capability and responsiveness, according to the agency.

The proliferated architecture spacecraft are thought to be modified versions of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites, which the company produces in bulk.

Today's launch occured on the 19th anniversary of the SpaceX's first-ever liftoff. The company sent a Falcon 1 rocket skyward from Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific. That mission failed, as did the next two Falcon 1 flights. The rocket bounced back, acing its fourth and fifth missions in September 2008 and July 2009, respectively, before being retired in favor of the Falcon 9., which debuted in June 2010.

NROL-69 was the 25th orbital rocket launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center in 2025.

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U.S. Military Airstrike In Southern Caribbean Targets Vessel Allegedly Operated By Venezuelan Tren de Aragua Gang

The U.S. military on Tuesday, conducted a precision strike in the southern Caribbean against a vessel that had departed from Venezuela and was allegedly operated by the Tren de Aragua gang, a transnational criminal organization designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. government.

President Donald Trump announced the operation on Truth Social, stating that 11 individuals, whom he referred to as "narcoterrorists" or "terrorists," were killed in the strike while the boat was transporting illegal narcotics in international waters. The strike was described as a "kinetic" operation carried out in the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility.

The U.S. military confirmed a "precision strike" against the vessel. Trump shared a 29-second video clip on Truth Social showing a small, multi-engine speedboat traveling at sea before a bright flash and flames engulfed it. The video is largely in black and white, and Venezuela's Communications Minister Freddy Ñáñez falsely suggested it was artificially generated.

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The Tren de Aragua gang originated over a decade ago within the notoriously violent prison system of Venezuela's Aragua state. It has since expanded its operations across Latin America, including to Chile, Colombia, and the United States, where it is involved in drug smuggling, kidnapping, extortion, sex trafficking, and acts of extreme violence such as beheadings.

The Biden administration designated it a transnational crime organization in 2024. President Trump, upon returning to office, escalated the designation, formally declaring Tren de Aragua a "Foreign Terrorist Organization" in February 2025, a move that is unusual for a criminal gang.

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The U.S. has also offered a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest on drug-trafficking charges. Despite the military action, the administration has not signaled plans for a land invasion of Venezuela.

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