SpaceX conducted its fifth launch of the architecture distributed by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on Saturday from California.

The NRO said it worked with the US Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 30 and SpaceX to successfully launch the NROL-126 mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

It happened at 3:10 a.m. ET from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

“This mission is the fifth launch of the NRO’s advanced architecture and demonstrates the efficiency of on-orbit delivery for this program,” the NRO said in a statement. “Today’s successful mission follows the launch of NROL-167 on October 24, and the sustained pace of deployment continues to diversify NRO’s operational satellite constellation.”

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on November 18, 2024, carrying the GSAT-20 satellite for New Space India. (Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via / Getty Images)

“For more than 60 years, the NRO has successfully met the needs of its U.S. intelligence, military, civilian and allied partners. It remains a global leader in unique intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems,” the statement said. “The NRO’s next-generation systems will help ensure the right data is delivered to the right user at the right time, faster than ever before. About half a dozen launches in support of the NRO’s widespread architecture are planned for 2024, with additional launches expected through 2028.”

In addition to the NRO’s NROL-126 mission, the Falcon 9 rocket also carried 20 Starlink satellites into orbit, according to SpaceX.

It is the “100th. “Successful launch of SpaceX from Pad 4E in California,” said the company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk on X.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 14, 2024, carrying NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft en route to Jupiter. (Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via / Getty Images)

According to SpaceNews.com, SpaceX had already launched four batches of NRO satellites – built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman – into low Earth orbit in May, June, September and October. Saturday’s launch marked the first time the NROL-126 mission included an unspecified number of government satellites as well as 20 Starlink internet satellites.

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It was also the first flight involving the Falcon 9’s first booster stage, which successfully landed on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean about eight minutes after liftoff, SpaceNews reported.

According to SpaceNews, a live broadcast of the launch was not available, and a live broadcast became available shortly before the main engine shut down.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center carrying NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft en route to Jupiter. (Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“This mission continues the NRO’s cutting-edge expertise in building and developing the U.S. government’s largest satellite constellation in history to provide critical information that can only be obtained from the perspective of space,” is a clip from a woman’s voice to be heard telling the start of the feed shared on X.

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The NRO, which designs and operates secret U.S. government surveillance and intelligence satellites, is working to quickly “deploy a new network of satellites designed to track ground targets in near real time,” according to SpaceNews.