{"id":15354,"date":"2016-07-26T21:20:53","date_gmt":"2016-07-26T13:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/preview-new-satellite-for-spy-agency-awaits-launch-into-space-thursday\/"},"modified":"2016-07-26T21:20:53","modified_gmt":"2016-07-26T13:20:53","slug":"preview-new-satellite-for-spy-agency-awaits-launch-into-space-thursday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/preview-new-satellite-for-spy-agency-awaits-launch-into-space-thursday\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview: New satellite for spy agency awaits launch into space Thursday"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"File
File photo of Atlas 5-421 rollout. Credit: ULA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

CAPE CANAVERAL \u2014 An Atlas 5 rocket carrying a classified national security satellite was rolled to the launch pad this morning for Thursday\u2019s flight to bolster the U.S. intelligence-gathering space architecture.<\/p>\n

Liftoff will occur at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT). The duration of the day\u2019s usable launch window remains classified.<\/p>\n

Weather forecasters expect favorable conditions for liftoff, placing 80 percent odds on launching. The only concern is a stray coastal shower impeding the rules.<\/p>\n

United Launch Alliance will perform the satellite-delivery mission using a 421-configured Atlas 5 rocket that is distinguished by a nose cone 14 feet in diameter and two solid-fuel boosters for added takeoff thrust.<\/p>\n

The rocket will head eastward across the Atlantic on a 99-degree flight azimuth to deploy the NROL-61 payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, the government agency responsible for the country\u2019s spy satellites.<\/p>\n

The satellite\u2019s purpose and final orbit have not been disclosed.<\/p>\n

The NRO was created in 1961 and operated in total secrecy as a black organization until its existence was declassified in 1992. It began acknowledging in advance the launches of its payloads in 1996.<\/p>\n

Today, the agency operates imaging and eavesdropping spacecraft, naval surveillance birds and data-relay satellites for the constellations.<\/p>\n

\u201cNRO systems fly from hundreds to thousands of miles from Earth. They provide policymakers and warfighters a unique perspective, worldwide reach and the flexibility only possible through space-based access,\u201d said NRO Director Betty Sapp.<\/p>\n

Atlas 5 has performed a dozen missions for the NRO since 2007 among its 63 flights overall dating back to 2002. But the NRO has never used a 421 version of the workhorse.<\/p>\n

\"Atlas
Atlas 5 has performed a dozen NRO launches to date. Photos by ULA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For United Launch Alliance, Thursday marks the company\u2019s 23rd flight in service to the NRO, the third just this year and 109th mission overall since 2006.<\/p>\n

Officials held the Launch Readiness Review on Monday to grant final approval to proceed with the mission as scheduled.<\/p>\n

The Atlas 5 rocket, assembled aboard a mobile launch platform inside the Vertical Integration Facility, was rolled out to the pad at Cape Canaveral\u2019s Complex 41 this morning.<\/p>\n

The slow drive from the 30-story assembly building to the launch pad, which began at 9:05 a.m., used a pair of specially-made \u201ctrackmobiles\u201d to carry the rocket\u2019s 1.4-million pound launching platform along rail tracks for the 1,800-foot trip.<\/p>\n

Countdown clocks will begin ticking early Thursday for the seven-hour sequence of final testing and fueling to launch.Tanking begins about two hours before liftoff to load 66,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen into the vehicle.<\/p>\n

The NROL-61 launch will be the 64th Atlas 5 flight and the fourth of 10 planned this year.<\/p>\n

It also marks the 80th rocket launch from Cape Canaveral\u2019s Complex 41. Since December 1965, the pad has hosted 27 Titan launches and 52 Atlas 5s.<\/p>\n