21 March 2025 year Fr. 06:49 (UTC) from the vandenberg airbase, California, USA using a launch vehicle «Falcon 9 Block 5» the mission was launched «NROL-57».
Mission «NROL-57» has a completely secret character, since the main customer is "NRO", the National Intelligence Service of the USA, and therefore the number of KA «Starshield» The mission has not been announced and is not known at this time. The probable amount can be up to 22 KA.
«Starshield» – This is government, Improved version of Starlink Satellites SpaceX with improved encryption and a number of other security features. Pentagon plans to use ka «Starshield» from the company SpaceX for the military communication network.
In addition to increased cybersecurity, An important advantage of the system «Starshield» There will be its branch, based on a large number of relatively small satellites, capable of providing a global coating. Such a structure will provide much greater resistance to refusals compared to the traditional rate on several large geostational satellites, which, In case of emergency, can be disabled by the enemy.
The use of communication networks such as "Starlink" proved to be decisive for ensuring uninterrupted communication in Ukraine after the full-scale invasion of Russia and showed its effectiveness in practice.
According to Bloomberg (December 2024 year) SpaceX won a contract with the Pentagon to expand Ukraine's access to a more secure military version of the satellite network «Starshield». Under the new contract, signed in August, got access to Starshield 2500 Starlink terminals, which are already in Ukraine.
This launch will expand the grouping of space vehicles «Starshield» and will provide a more stable connection for NRO. At the moment, the exact number of the group's devices is unknown, but according to information from various sources can reach 150 KA.
According to the CCS