Delta 4 Heavy launches NRO satellite
Posted: Sat, Jun 30, 2012, 9:51 AM ET (1351 GMT)
A Delta 4 Heavy lifted off Friday morning carrying a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The Delta 4 Heavy lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 9:15 am EDT (1315 GMT) on mission NROL-15 for the NRO. The launch was delayed by just over three hours because of a series of technical problems with the rocket that halted the countdown with under four minutes before launch. The purpose of the NRO mission has not been revealed, but it some observers speculate that it is a next-generation signals intelligence or "stealth" reconnaissance satellite. The launch was the first Delta 4 Heavy, the most powerful current US launch vehicle, using upgraded RS-68A main engines, which generate about five percent more thrust than the RS-68 engine.
A Delta 4 Heavy lifted off Friday morning carrying a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The Delta 4 Heavy lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 9:15 am EDT (1315 GMT) on mission NROL-15 for the NRO. The launch was delayed by just over three hours because of a series of technical problems with the rocket that halted the countdown with under four minutes before launch. The purpose of the NRO mission has not been revealed, but it some observers speculate that it is a next-generation signals intelligence or "stealth" reconnaissance satellite. The launch was the first Delta 4 Heavy, the most powerful current US launch vehicle, using upgraded RS-68A main engines, which generate about five percent more thrust than the RS-68 engine.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, March 22
GomSpace selected for European Defence Agency Program, strengthening position in defense and advanced space missions
GomSpace — 5:37 pm ET (2137 GMT) FAA Streamlines Commercial Space License Approvals
FAA — 5:36 pm ET (2136 GMT) Interstellar Technologies’ Satellite Business Passes Stage Gate for JAXA’s Space Strategy Fund’s Program
Interstellar Technologies — 5:36 pm ET (2136 GMT) Advanced Navigation Secures US$110M Series C to Catalyze the Next Era of Autonomous Systems
Advanced Navigation — 5:32 pm ET (2132 GMT) Seda Hewitt, Space Ambassador of Interstellar Communication Holdings to Present at the 9th Annual PocketQube Conference
GlobeNewswire — 5:29 pm ET (2129 GMT) |
