SpaceX launches covert US spy satellites into orbit from California

SpaceX launched the US government’s spy satellites (NROL-172) from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base atop a Falcon 9, part of the NRO’s proliferated architecture to widen signals and imagery across multiple orbits; the first stage landed on a drone ship after liftoff, and SpaceX and Northrop Grumman-built satellites will expand the United States’ space surveillance capabilities.