Falcon Heavy set to launch classified NROL-97 to high-energy orbit

3 min read · reported by NASASpaceflight

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launched the classified NROL-97 payload for the United States National Reconnaissance Office. Falcon Heavy is scheduled to liftoff from 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 11:53 PM EDT (03:53 UTC) on Oct. 1, following a trajectory into a high-energy orbit.

The mission marked the quickest turnaround between Falcon Heavy missions, with the rocket having last launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope for NASA on Aug. 30. As with that mission, the two side boosters will be recovered, while the center core will be expended.

Falcon Heavy and launch details

Falcon Heavy launched from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Thursday, Oct. 1. A 59-minute launch window opened at 11:53 PM EDT (03:53 UTC), running until 12:52 AM EDT (04:52 UTC) on Oct. 2.

The vehicle launched on a northeasterly trajectory to deliver a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to a high-energy orbit. Due to the payload’s mass, Falcon Heavy’s center core, booster B1106, was expended to maximize stage performance and ensure the classified payload is placed on the correct trajectory. B1106 was its first and final flight, a common practice for Falcon Heavy center cores.

The outer boosters, B1072 and B1104, landed at Landing Zones 2 (LZ-2) and 1 (LZ-1), respectively. B1072 was on its fourth flight, previously supporting the GOES-U, ViaSat 3 F3, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope missions. B1104 was on its second flight, having previously supported the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope mission as well.

Falcon Heavy is SpaceX’s super-heavy-lift, partially reusable launch vehicle that can deliver up to 63,800 kg to low-Earth orbit and 26,700 kg to geostationary transfer orbit. The 70-m-tall vehicle has 5.2-m-diameter fairing halves. The first stage features three side-by-side Falcon boosters, each powered by nine Merlin 1D sea-level engines fueled by kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX). The outer boosters are usually recovered on land via return-to-launch-site (RTLS) trajectories, with the center core mostly expended.

Falcon Heavy and its 27 Merlin engines in the hangar at Launch Complex 39A in Florida pic.twitter.com/ETejT6zPD2

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 28, 2026

The second stage uses a single Merlin 1D vacuum-optimized engine, capable of multiple restarts, and is fueled by RP-1 and LOX. Unlike the first stage boosters, the second stage is expended. In total, Falcon Heavy has a total liftoff thrust of 22,819 kilonewtons (kN).

As usual for a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) mission, the exact identity and technical details of the NROL-97 payload are classified. However, opting for Falcon Heavy — particularly a configuration that uses an expended center core –suggests a high-mass payload. The targeted “high-energy orbit” also points to potential orbital destinations such as the geostationary-Earth orbit (GEO), medium-Earth orbit (MEO), or a highly elliptical orbit (HEO).

Unlike low-Earth orbit (LEO) reconnaissance assets that offer brief imaging windows, payloads in high-energy orbits can provide continuous coverage of specific regions. These orbits are frequently used for intelligence, missile-warning, or missile-defense satellites, as well as Earth observation and weather satellites. The NRO likely will not disclose any payload details in the near future.

Following NROL-97, Falcon Heavy’s next mission, Griffin Mission One, is scheduled to launch no earlier than December 2026. The mission will see Falcon Heavy launch an Astrobotic-developed lunar lander under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. The vehicle will perform a trans-lunar injection burn to deliver the uncrewed 6,360 kg Griffin One lander to the lunar surface.

The next mission after this, Astrobotic Lunar Mission 3, is tentatively scheduled for 2027. The commercial flight will deliver payloads to the Moon’s South Pole aboard another Astrobotic lander; these potentially include the FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform (FLIP) rover developed by Venturi Astrolab. Alongside its lunar missions, Falcon Heavy is scheduled to launch a heavy payload manifest for the United States Space Force (USSF) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in 2027.

Despite the Falcon family’s pending retirement in the coming years, Falcon Heavy’s manifest is full, and it will likely continue flying for several years until Starship becomes fully operational and can take over SpaceX’s heavy-lift missions.

Reported by NASASpaceflight. Reproduced unedited by Everything Space. View the original →