NROL-172 Launch Thread
| Scheduled for (UTC) | [2026-05-12, 02:13:50](https://dateful.com/convert/utc?t=0213&d=2026-05-12) |
| --- | --- |
| Scheduled for (local) | 2026-05-11, 19:13:50 (PDT) |
| Launch site | SLC-4E Vandenberg SFB, California, USA |
| Booster | B1097-9 |
| Landing | OCISLY |
| Payload | NROL-172 |
| Customer | [NRO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Reconnaissance_Office) |
| Mission success criteria | Successful delivery of payload to LEO |
# Webcasts
| Stream | Link |
| --- | --- |
| Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GZdQ7WLF_U
| Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eolg3WJBf_o
| NASASpaceflight | none
| The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMYjAt2aGjo
| SpaceX | https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2054019305378123821
| The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kamFnwLiv-w
# Stats
Sourced from [NextSpaceflight](https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/8234/) and [r/SpaceX](https://old.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/1t8p8n5/rspacex_nrol172_official_launch_discussion/):
☑️ 29th launch from SLC-4E this year
☑️ 5 days, 22:14:31 turnaround for this pad
☑️ 22 days, 10:10:41 turnaround for B1097
☑️ 197th landing on OCISLY
☑️ 616th Falcon Family Booster landing, 627th Falcon recovery attempt
☑️ 55th Falcon 9 mission this year, 638th overall
☑️ 56th SpaceX mission this year, 666th overall (excluding Starship test flights)
☑️ 56th SpaceX launch this year, 675th overall (including Starship test flights)
# Mission info
- [SpaceX mission page](https://www.spacex.com/launches/nrol172)
- [NextSpaceflight page](https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/8234/)
> NROL-172 (Proliferated Architecture)
>
> The NRO's Proliferated Architecture is a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to provide imaging and other reconnaissance capabilities. The NRO’s proliferated system will increase timeliness of access, diversify communication pathways, and enhance resilience. It will provide greater revisit rates and increased coverage, and eliminate single points of failure. With hundreds of small satellites on orbit, data will be delivered in minutes or even seconds. This will ensure the analysts, warfighters, and civil agencies NRO serves receive actionable information faster than ever before.
| --- | --- |
| Scheduled for (local) | 2026-05-11, 19:13:50 (PDT) |
| Launch site | SLC-4E Vandenberg SFB, California, USA |
| Booster | B1097-9 |
| Landing | OCISLY |
| Payload | NROL-172 |
| Customer | [NRO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Reconnaissance_Office) |
| Mission success criteria | Successful delivery of payload to LEO |
# Webcasts
| Stream | Link |
| --- | --- |
| Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GZdQ7WLF_U
| Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eolg3WJBf_o
| NASASpaceflight | none
| The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMYjAt2aGjo
| SpaceX | https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2054019305378123821
| The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kamFnwLiv-w
# Stats
Sourced from [NextSpaceflight](https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/8234/) and [r/SpaceX](https://old.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/1t8p8n5/rspacex_nrol172_official_launch_discussion/):
☑️ 29th launch from SLC-4E this year
☑️ 5 days, 22:14:31 turnaround for this pad
☑️ 22 days, 10:10:41 turnaround for B1097
☑️ 197th landing on OCISLY
☑️ 616th Falcon Family Booster landing, 627th Falcon recovery attempt
☑️ 55th Falcon 9 mission this year, 638th overall
☑️ 56th SpaceX mission this year, 666th overall (excluding Starship test flights)
☑️ 56th SpaceX launch this year, 675th overall (including Starship test flights)
# Mission info
- [SpaceX mission page](https://www.spacex.com/launches/nrol172)
- [NextSpaceflight page](https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/8234/)
> NROL-172 (Proliferated Architecture)
>
> The NRO's Proliferated Architecture is a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to provide imaging and other reconnaissance capabilities. The NRO’s proliferated system will increase timeliness of access, diversify communication pathways, and enhance resilience. It will provide greater revisit rates and increased coverage, and eliminate single points of failure. With hundreds of small satellites on orbit, data will be delivered in minutes or even seconds. This will ensure the analysts, warfighters, and civil agencies NRO serves receive actionable information faster than ever before.