NROL-111 Launch Press Kit

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE
INNOVATIVE OVERHEAD INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS FOR NATIONAL SECURITY

1 | NROL-111 L AUNCH PRESS KIT

NRO/PAO [10028] ID 5.21

The NROL-111 mission patch 

shows a flying wild boar 

in traditional aviator gear. 

Boars are a good spirit 

guide to call on when you 

have ambitious goals, and 

inspire tenacity in the hunt 

to achieve them. The three 

stars represent the three 

payloads designed, built, 

and operated by NRO.

NRO Mission

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) 

is an Intelligence Community element 

and Department of Defense organization 

responsible for developing, acquiring, 

launching and operating America’s 

reconnaissance satellites, as well as 

operating associated data processing 

facilities in support of national security. Using 

NRO data, the National Security Agency, 

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, 

and other NRO mission partners produce 

intelligence products for the President, 

Congress, national policymakers, warfighters, 

and civil users.

The NRO uses a variety of satellites to meet 

these mission needs – from small sats to 

more traditional satellites. This approach 

allows the NRO to pursue a hybrid overhead 

architecture designed to provide global 

coverage against a wide range of intelligence 

requirements, carry out research and 

development efforts, and assist emergency 

and disaster relief efforts in the U.S. and 

around the world.

NROL-111

The National Reconnaissance 

Office (NRO) is proud to support 

its second dedicated launch out 

of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in 

Virginia, in partnership with NASA 

Wallops, Northrop Grumman, 

Virginia Space, and the U.S. Space 

Force Space and Missile Systems 

Center.

The NROL-111 mission will carry three 

payloads designed, built and operated 

by the agency and will launch aboard a 

Northrop Grumman Minotaur I rocket 

NET June 15, 2021 from Mid-Atlantic 

Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0B. NROL-111 

supports NRO’s overall national security 

mission to provide intelligence data to 

United States’ senior policy makers, the 

Intelligence Community and Department 

of Defense.
Minotaur I

Fuel Type: Solid

Height: 21 meters (63.0 ft)

Diameter: 1.67 meters (5 ft 6 in)

STAGE-1

STAGE-2

STAGE-3

STAGE-4

61” FAIRING

PAYLOAD

INNOVATIVE OVERHEAD INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS FOR NATIONAL SECURITY

2 | NROL-111 L AUNCH PRESS KIT

NRO/PAO [10028] ID 5.21

Rocket & 

Launch Facts

Minotaur I is a four-stage solid 

fuel space launch vehicle utilizing 

Minuteman rocket motors for 

its first and second stages, 

reusing motors that have been 

decommissioned as a result 

of arms reduction treaties. 

The Stage 3 and 4 motors are 

the Orion 50XL and Orion 38, 

respectively. Minotaur I is capable 

of launching payloads up to 580 

kg (1,278 lbs) into low Earth 

Orbit. To date, Minotaur I has 

conducted 11 missions with a 

100% success rate, delivering 62 

satellites into orbit.

Northrop Grumman 

Northrop Grumman Minotaur rockets have 

100% success rate, launching missions out 

of every major U.S. spaceport. Under the U.S. 

Space Force Orbital/Suborbital Program-3 

(OSP-3) contract, Northrop Grumman 

integrates, tests and provides space launch 

services for the Minotaur I, IV, V, and VI family 

of rockets. The OSP-3 contract is managed 

by the Launch Enterprise Small Launch and 

Targets Division, which is part of U.S. Space 

Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center 

(SMC). 

Graphic credit: NG
INNOVATIVE OVERHEAD INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS FOR NATIONAL SECURITY

3 | NROL-111 L AUNCH PRESS KIT

NRO/PAO [10028] ID 5.21

MARS Launch Pads: Pad 0B (bottom) and Pad 0A (center, with the large water tower)

Site Info

Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0B

NROL-111 will launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional 

Spaceport (MARS) Pad 0B. The MARS launch complex is 

collocated on the NASA Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern 

Shore of Virginia. In 1997, the Virginia Commercial Space 

Flight Authority, known as “Virginia Space”, entered into 

a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement with NASA, which 

provided for permitted use of land on NASA Wallops Island 

for the MARS launch pads. Virginia Space also applied for 

and was granted an FAA license to launch to orbit. This led 

to establishment of the Virginia Space Mid-Atlantic Regional 

Spaceport (MARS), located on the southern portion of NASA 

Wallops Island. Wallops partners with Virginia Space to 

provide various support services to MARS launches. Today, 

Virginia Space, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth 

of Virginia, owns and operates Pad 0B (left), Pad 0A (center, 

with the large water tower), Launch Complex-2 (LC-2), a 

dedicated Payload Processing Facility (PPF) capable of 

processing multiple, yet segregated, payloads from arrival to 

encapsulation in one facility, and the MARS UAS Airfield, a 

unique multi domain test environment for unmanned systems 

featuring over 330 square miles of Restricted Airspace 

extending from the surface to space.
INNOVATIVE OVERHEAD INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS FOR NATIONAL SECURITY

4 | NROL-111 L AUNCH PRESS KIT

NRO/PAO [10028] ID 5.21

Visit https://www.nro.gov/News/

Press-Releases/ to view the latest 

launch press releases.

Recent 

Successes

The NRO is the best in the world 

at providing overhead intelligence, 

surveillance, and reconnaissance 

to more than 500,000 government 

users—including every member of 

the Intelligence Community, two 

dozen domestic agencies, our 

nation’s military, lawmakers, and 

decision makers.

-Dr. Troy Meink, Principal Deputy Director, 

National Reconnaissance Office

In April 2021, the National Reconnaissance Office 

launched its NROL-82 mission aboard a United 

Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy from Vandenberg 

Air Force Base, California in our first launch of 

2021. NROL-111 will be our second launch of 

the year and our second dedicated launch from 

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in twelve months. 

Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 

pandemic, NRO last year successfully 

launched six missions from two countries. 

We started the year with our first 

dedicated mission launch from New 

Zealand in collaboration with Rocket 

Lab and the New Zealand Space Agency. 

NROL-151 was the first launch under 

NRO’s Rapid Acquisition of a Small Rocket 

(RASR) contract. RASR enables NRO to 

explore new opportunities for launching 

small satellites through a streamlined, 

commercial approach. Our second launch 

of 2020 was also from New Zealand 

with these same partners, carrying three 

payloads designed, built and operated 

by NRO, as well as two additional 

CubeSats, one for NASA and the other 

from the University of New South Wales, 

Canberra Space.

In July 2020, NRO collaborated with NASA 

Wallops, Northrop Grumman, U.S. Space 

Force Space and Missile Systems Center 

and Virginia Space/Mid-Atlantic Regional 

Spaceport to launch our first dedicated 

launch out of NASA’s Wallops Flight 

Facility, Virginia. NROL-129 launched 

aboard a Northrop Grumman Minotaur IV 

rocket. 

In November and December 2020, 

we collaborated with United Launch 

Alliance (ULA), the U.S. Space Force 

Space and Missile Systems Center, 

and the 45th Space Wing to launch 

NROL-101 on an Atlas V rocket and 

NROL-44 on a Delta IV Heavy rocket 

from Cape Canaveral Space Force 

Station, Florida. 

Finally, also in December 2020 we 

collaborated with SpaceX for the first 

time since 2017 to launch NROL-108 

on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s 

Kennedy Space Center, Florida. 

NRO is proud to have had several 

firsts throughout 2020 and we’re 

looking forward to continued mission 

success in 2021.
INNOVATIVE OVERHEAD INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS FOR NATIONAL SECURITY

5 | NROL-111 L AUNCH PRESS KIT

NRO/PAO [10028] ID 5.21

Future Launches

NROL-129 launches aboard a Northrop Grumman Minotaur IV rocket at 

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, on July 15, 2020. 

Live on Launch Day

@natreconofc

@NationalReconnaissanceOffice

NRO launch announcements will be released 

on NRO’s official social media accounts

Live Video - www.youtube.com/user/

NASAWallops

Live Updates - Follow us on Twitter 

on launch day

NRO/PAO [10028] ID 5.21