On March 15, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) announced that it has successfully launched a research & development (R&D) demonstrator aboard the Transporter-13 rideshare mission with SpaceX on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on March 15, 2025, at 2:43 a.m. EDT.
The payload, designed and operated by NRO’s Advanced Systems & Technology Directorate (AS&T), consists of two 6U CubeSats to support an NRO experimental technology research mission. This mission is the second NRO R&D demonstrator launched in 2025 and follows the launch of the Otter R&D payload on SpaceX’s Transporter-12 rideshare mission in January.
“The NRO’s commitment to demonstrating experimental technology in orbit allows us to stay at the forefront of innovation,” said Dr. Aaron Weiner, director of NRO’s AS&T. “Through efforts like this, AS&T is posturing the NRO to maintain its advantage in delivering space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems that are responsive to future national security challenges.”
Source: NRO
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