SpaceX launches intelligence-gathering satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office

The NROL-72 mission was the 13th to date supporting what the NRO calls its “proliferated architecture” satellite constellation. Liftoff of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 7:13:50 p.m. PDT (10:13:50 p.m. EDT / 0213:50 UTC).