spacetoday.net: Delta 4 launches classified satellite

Posted: Sun, Jan 18, 2009, 11:01 AM ET (1601 GMT)
Delta 4 Heavy launch of NROL-26 (ULA)

After several days of delays, a Delta 4 Heavy successfully launched a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on Saturday night. The Delta 4 Heavy lifted off from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral, Florida at 9:47 pm EST Saturday (0247 GMT Sunday). Because of the classified nature of the launch, a blackout on launch activities was put into place several minutes after liftoff, and a United Launch Alliance press release Saturday night stated only that the vehicle successfully lifted off from the Cape. The only information about the payload released by the NRO was its launch designation, NROL-26, but analysts believe the spacecraft is a new electronic eavesdropping satellite, to be located in GEO and using large deployable antennas to detect radio transmissions. The launch was the third for the Delta 4 Heavy, the largest EELV version in operation, and the first since the launch of an early warning satellite for the Air Force in November 2007.