The rocket launched at 2:49 a.m. EDT Friday form Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission was for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.
The NROL-57 mission came nine days after the rocket was used to take the SPHEREx space telescope and PUNCH solar probes for NASA into orbit March 11.
According to NRO the Friday mission was the eighth time"proliferated architecture" was used. It's a paradigm featuring a number of smaller satellites NRO said are designed "for capability and resilience."
"Over the past two years, NRO has launched more than 150 satellites, creating the largest and most capable government constellation on orbit in our nation's history. Continuing with this momentum, 2025 is set to be another dynamic year, with approximately one dozen NRO launches scheduled," the NRO said in a statement.
Friday's Falcon 9 launch was the 450th for Falcon 9 rockets.
The satellites are believed to be a Starshield constellation for the government, a variation of Starlink built by SpaceX and Northrup Grumman.
The launch was the second this year. The first was the NROL-153 mission in January.
The number of satellites on the Friday mission wasn't revealed.
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