SpaceX Launches Classified NROL-95 Mission for National Reconnaissance Office

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) at 3:10 a.m. EDT on July 30, 2026. The rocket departed from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The NROL-95 mission involves a payload designed, built, and operated by the NRO.

Due to the classified nature of the mission, the NRO requested restrictions on the launch broadcast, which led to the omission of second-stage and payload deployment footage. Prior to the launch, the NRO released a mission patch featuring a snarling ferret and the phrase "We are the Champions."

The first-stage booster, completing its seventh flight, successfully landed at Cape Canaveral approximately 8.5 minutes after liftoff. This mission was the 88th Falcon launch of the year for SpaceX and the fourth NRO launch of 2026. Previous NRO missions this year launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base to develop a proliferated architecture constellation of small reconnaissance satellites.