Talk:List of NRO launches

Tagged for speculation

I added the "speculation" tag today. Many references hardly qualify as experts (i.e. unverified speculation in discussion threads). Several even state that the assertion is a guess. Yet the table reads like it's truth. Muskr (talk) 19:55, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

NROL-36 has launched

NROL-36 has been launched allready. Goto United Launch Alliance webpage for more info. http://www.ulalaunch.com — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.194.80.43 (talk) 01:14, 23 September 2012 (UTC)

NROL-79

On an internet discussion forum (http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=35157.msg1230314#msg1230314) it was noted that USAF is now requesting proposals for the launch service for NROL-79. Thus it hasn't been awarded to ULA for Atlas V, as this list previously indicated. (sdsds - talk) 22:38, 20 July 2014 (UTC)

I believe the source of the Atlas V assignment was from a list several years ago (somewhere around 2009 IIRC - my memory is hazy) that have the rocket assignments for NRO birds starting from some that ended up launching in 2010 or so. IMO I would take that as a "baseline" comment more than anything else (just like some NASA missions are listed as "baselined for launch on Delta II/Pegasus" even when there are multiple LVs that can be used by NASA).

Subjectively, I think there is little chance that a certain new-SoCal-aerospace-company can win a bid for launching NRO birds for the next few years (I think they will get other USAF payloads first), but since this is Wikipedia...... ;) Galactic Penguin SST (talk) 05:26, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

NROL-71 mission patch

There is a mission patch for NROL-71 which needs to be included. https://www.picclickimg.com/d/w1600/pict/222804219007_/ORIGINAL-NROL-71-DELTA-IV-SLC-6-VAFB-ULA-USAF.jpg

Launch designators, L or NROL

Why are all the launches shown in the table as L-nn' whereas all the recent launches have been hamed, by the NRO themselves as shown on the patches used for mission illustrations in the article, and in their launch documentation, as NROL-nn? This is incosistent, and confusing to the first-time reader of this Wikipedia article. N2e (talk) 11:18, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

That was a choice made by the creators of the article since the beginning, but it makes sense. From my experience at one time in the past speaking with a representative of the NRO, they just call them "L-#" not "NROL-#" because it's just "Launch #". The "NROL-#" designation is just a succinct way of writing "The National Reconnaissance Office's Launch-#" for the outside world just like most commercial and government satellite launches are named after the payload or mission name like "Jason-3" or "Parker Solar Probe" or "Iridium-4". I'm not opposed to changing the first column of the table in the article to "NROL-#" instead of "L-#" but I don't see a compelling reason to either. Happy to hear people's arguments for or against though, even though it's probably a relatively uncontroversial change either way. Keavon (talk) 05:18, 7 October 2020 (UTC)

putting "NROL" in the first column would have helped me, and might help others who search for "NROL-##". - Rod57 (talk) 13:18, 8 December 2020 (UTC)

No indication of any launch attempts prior to launch - eg the many tries for NROL-44

Should there be a notable launches section, or could it be noted somewhere in the table ? NROL-44 has got as far as fuelling the launchers a few times over the months since payload integration and rollout/rollback. 44 is a low number - the launcher might have been selected years ago. - Rod57 (talk) 13:14, 8 December 2020 (UTC)

Changed falcon color in chart

Falcon color was put as a light grey when there was already another shade of light grey on the chart. It made it hard to tell the two apart. Ergzay (talk) 05:06, 14 December 2020 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

• NROL-151 Mission Patch.svg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 04:11, 5 January 2022 (UTC)