SpaceX launches NROL-153, expanding U.S. spy satellite constellation  

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) NROL-153 mission on Jan. 9, marking the latest step in the agency’s rapid expansion of its proliferated low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation.  

The rocket lifted off at 10:53 p.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, carrying…