April 26, 2026
Spaceflight Now
  • Home
  • News Archive
  • Launch Schedule
  • Mission Reports
    • Antares Launcher
    • Ariane 5
    • Atlas 5
    • Delta 4
    • Falcon 9
    • Falcon Heavy
    • H-2A
    • Soyuz
    • Space Station
  • Members
    • Sign in
    • Become a member
    • Members Content
  • Live
  • Shop
  • Donate
Breaking News
  • [ April 23, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB Falcon 9
  • [ April 21, 2026 ] SpaceX launches final GPS III satellite for the U.S. Space Force Falcon 9
  • [ April 20, 2026 ] Blue Origin launches third New Glenn rocket, but payload ends up in wrong orbit New Glenn
  • [ April 19, 2026 ] Third flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket to feature 1st reuse of booster Mission Reports
  • [ April 18, 2026 ] SpaceX makes 600th Falcon booster landing during West Coast Starlink mission Falcon 9

Photos: News media shots of the NROL-52 liftoff

October 15, 2017 Justin Ray

Cape Canaveral was the point of origination for the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket and the classified NROL-52 payload.

Photo Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

See earlier NROL-52 coverage.

  • Atlas 5
  • AV-075
  • Launch
  • National Reconnaissance Office
  • NROL-52
  • United Launch Alliance

Related Articles

Falcon 9

Live coverage: SpaceX launches Boeing-built telecom satellite for Asia-Pacific

December 16, 2019 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 7:10 p.m. EST Monday (0010 GMT Tuesday) with the JCSAT 18/Kacific 1 communications satellite, heading for a position in geostationary orbit to beam broadband signals across the Asia-Pacific. The launcher deployed the satellite into an on-target orbit, and the first stage returned to land on SpaceX’s drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Mission Reports

Timeline for Pegasus launch of ICON satellite

November 6, 2018 Stephen Clark

Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket will take about 11 minutes to place NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, satellite into a roughly 357-mile-high (575-kilometer) orbit after an airborne launch off Florida’s east coast.

Falcon Heavy

SpaceX debuts world’s most powerful rocket, sends Tesla into solar system

February 7, 2018 Stephen Clark

Rumbling into the sky from a historic NASA-owned launch pad, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket — the world’s most powerful present-day launcher — flew for the first time Tuesday, dispatching a road-worn electric Tesla sports car with a spacesuit-clad mannequin nicknamed “Starman” on an interplanetary journey that will reach beyond the orbit of Mars.

News Headlines

  • SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB
    April 23, 2026
  • SpaceX launches final GPS III satellite for the U.S. Space Force
    April 21, 2026
  • Blue Origin launches third New Glenn rocket, but payload ends up in wrong orbit
    April 20, 2026
  • Third flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket to feature 1st reuse of booster
    April 19, 2026
  • SpaceX makes 600th Falcon booster landing during West Coast Starlink mission
    April 18, 2026
  • Blue Origin hot fires its first previously flown booster, prepares for weekend launch
    April 16, 2026
  • Blue Origin one step closer to launching New Glenn from Vandenberg Space Force Base
    April 15, 2026
  • West Coast SpaceX Falcon 9 mission launches 25 Starlink satellites
    April 15, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 1,000th Starlink satellite of 2026 on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
    April 14, 2026
  • NASA confident Artemis 2 heat shield will protect crew during re-entry
    April 10, 2026
  • Home
  • News Archive
  • Launch Schedule
  • Mission Reports
    • Antares Launcher
    • Ariane 5
    • Atlas 5
    • Delta 4
    • Falcon 9
    • Falcon Heavy
    • H-2A
    • Soyuz
    • Space Station
  • Members
    • Sign in
    • Become a member
    • Members Content
  • Live
  • Shop
  • Donate

© 1999-2026 Spaceflight Now Inc