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SpaceX launching secret US spy satellite early on July 30: Watch it live
Liftoff of the NROL-95 mission is scheduled for 3:09 a.m. ET on Thursday (July 30).
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SpaceX plans to launch a secret reconnaissance mission for the U.S. government early on Thursday morning (July 30), and you can watch the action live.
A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday, kicking off a mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) called NROL-95.
The 44-minute launch window opens at 2:37 a.m. EDT (0637 GMT). SpaceX has said it's targeting a time in the latter half of that span — 3:09 a.m. EDT (0709 GMT). You can watch live via SpaceX beginning about 10 minutes before liftoff.
We know very little about NROL-95; the NRO, which operates the country's fleet of spy satellites, has provided no details about the payload or its activities.
The agency has revealed the NROL-95 mission patch. It depicts a snarling ferret with a nighttime sky in the background and the words "We are the Champions" on the emblem's lower border.
"The ferret, a clever creature, embodies agility and resilience — key traits for exploration. Its confident grin and bright eyes reflect a spirit of victory in a realm where determination meets adventure," NRO officials said in an NROL-95 mission description.
"The bold phrase 'We are the Champions' encapsulates the camaraderie and pride shared among those on this purposeful mission," they added.
NROL-95 will be the fourth NRO launch of 2026. The other three — NROL-105 in January, NROL-172 in May and NROL-179 in June — also flew aboard Falcon 9s, but from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.