NRO spy agency launches top-secret spy satellite

 

The National Reconnaissance Office
(NRO) maintains America's fleet of spy satellites

     This was a super-secret spy satellite launch by an Atlas 5 rocket that roared out of a Cape Canaveral launching pad at an undisclosed time, over a year ago. The spy satellite was enclosed in the nose cone, and it took off in a cloak of secrecy. A few adventurous young men were able to catch the count down and lift off on video which is shown at the bottom of this article. The Atlas 5 roared the satellite into orbit; it's designed to communicate with other spy satellites.

     The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) made sure a news blackout occurred after the 5:05 p.m. EST liftoff from Complex 41. The NRO is one of America's 17 intelligence community agencies and is responsible for building and maintaining our fleet of spy satellites. It has carried out many launches in recent years, yet none were as secretive as this one. The 19-story Atlas roared skyward on nearly a million pounds of thrust. In the video, you'll witness the first stage firing off the pad for four minutes before shutting down and separating, leaving the hydrogen-fueled Centaur upper stage to light its engine and continue the push to orbit. Centaur is designed for use as the upper stage of launch vehicles and will boost the spy satellite into final orbit. Centaur was the world's first high-energy upper stage, burning liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX).

     Shortly after the ignition, the no-longer-needed nose cone shrouding the payload was jettisoned. On the video, you can hear in the background continual updates on the rocket's journey, but they all fall silent after the first stage shuts down. Why? Because this particular spy satellite is so secretive that the NRO wants no one to know if its deployment into space was a success or failure. Interestingly, is seems fair to deduce that this spy satellite launch is particularly critical since such info in the past was readily broadcast freely.

     About two hours after lift-off, rocket-maker United Launch Alliance issued a press release saying the launch ended successfully. At the same time as the press release, the spent Centaur upper stage was completing its first orbit. The rocket body was dumping residual propellant overboard, creating a stunningly bright fan-shaped cloud visible above eastern North America, with sighting reports from Louisiana to Canada. For those in the Cape Canaveral area gazing into the nighttime sky, it was a special treat after witnessing the spectacular liftoff.

 

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     The NRO codenamed this Atlas rocket launch "Scorpius" and the mission logo was displayed on the rocket's nose cone featuring a scorpion with a phrase translated to mean, "Beware of Our Sting". The spy satellite will take a Molniya-style orbit (elliptical) stretching from about 500 miles to 25,000 miles at an inclination of 63 degrees. While we're all sleeping soundly or going about our daily routine, Scorpius will activate and become a data relay satellite. She'll intercept and route information from polar-orbiting photo reconnaissance spacecraft to ground receivers. The U.S. has a polar orbiting satellite that passes above both earth’s poles on each revolution and is in a low earth orbit. The only difference is that a satellite in polar orbit travels a north-south direction, rather than the more common east-west direction.

     What does this polar orbit mean? The super-secret spy satellites can view the entire planet's surface. As she orbits above us in a north-south direction, the Earth is spinning beneath in an east-west direction. The result? Our NSA bird will eventually scan the entire surface. It’s like pealing an orange in one piece. Around and around, one strip at a time, until we have incredible and detailed data on any point on Earth. It will, literally, monitor the world stage. The Atlas rocket ascent you see in the video is in a northeast trajectory off the launch pad. It roared above the east coast of the U.S. and is like earlier Atlas missions bound for a Molniya orbit. Experts say the liftoff appeared timed to intercept the orbit occupied by an aging SDS communications satellite put into orbit years ago.

     Enjoy the video: Atlas 5 Rocket Launches Top Secret NROL-24 Satellite.

Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), enjoys writing about the U.S. Intelligence Community, and relishes traveling to the Florida Keys and Key West, the Bahamas and Caribbean. He combines both passions in his Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster series. Check out his latest spy thriller: MISSION OF VENGEANCE.