NROL-39
NROL-39 was launched in December 2013. National Reconnaissance Office

There were three secret spy satellite launches in 2014. The satellites with classified payloads were launched atop an Atlas V rocket by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Let's take a look at the year in missions supporting national defense.

Part of the appeal of the NRO launches, aside from the designation of being a secret spy satellite, is the interesting mission patches. A patch for NROL-39, depicting an octopus and its tentacles encircling Earth with the slogan "nothing is beyond our reach," went viral in December 2013. Rachel Nuwer, writing for Smithsonian, has an interesting look at how people try to interpret the mission patches.

The NRO launches were awarded to ULA as part of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) contract. SpaceX founder Elon Musk sued the U.S. government over the EELV contracts. Musk argued that SpaceX was undergoing EELV certification and there was no bidding process when the government awarded ULA a contract for 36. The U.S. Air Force opened competition for EELV launches in July.

NROL-67: April 10, 2014

NROL-67
NROL-67 was launched on April 10, 2014. United Launch Alliance

The first secret spy satellite launch took place on April 10, 2014 from Space Launch Complex-41 in Florida. "In knowledge there is opportunity," reads the slogan for NROL-67. The detailed mission information does not reveal its orbit, resources or any other details. For a comparison, NASA's mission information for the upcoming SpaceX launch to the International Space Station provides information for almost every category. For ULA, it was the second launch in seven days.

NROL-33: May 22, 2014

NROL-33
NROL-33 launched on May, 22, 2014. National Reconnaissance Office

ULA launched its second secret spy satellite on May 22, 2014 at 9:09 a.m. EDT. The NROL-33 mission once again carried a classified payload and launched from Space Launch Complex-41 atop an Atlas V rocket.

NROL-35: Dec. 12, 2014

NROL-35
NROL-35 was launched on Dec. 12, 2014. National Reconnaissance Office

The final NRO launch took place on Dec. 12, 2014, at 7:19 p.m. PST. The NROL-35 launch served as the first test of the Atlas V rocket's Centaur upper stage and was powered by the Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C-1 engine.