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Titan 4 Delivers New Spy Satellite to Earth Orbit
By Jim Banke
Senior Producer,
posted: 06:30 pm ET
05 October 2001
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- America's ability to "smoke out" its enemies was likely enhanced Friday with the successful launch from California of a Titan 4 rocket lofting a clandestine spy satellite into Earth orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Although the mission was classified, enough is publicly known about the flight that it is clear the rocket carried some kind of imaging satellite that will make it possible for the NRO to take detailed pictures of the ground. Such imagery could help the Pentagon pinpoint the location of a variety of potential targets, while also keeping track of enemy troop movements and other equipment and supplies. Long planned for launch before the Sept. 11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., the NRO spacecraft will likely become another tool in the expected marathon war against terrorism around the world. Based on the specific rocket configuration and the precise launch time, industry observers speculate the satellite is most likely an optics-based spacecraft that uses a large mirror to gather light -- essentially a "Hubble Space Telescope" that points at Earth's surface instead of deep space. Other possibilities include an imaging satellite that uses radar to peer through cloud cover, or a spacecraft that combines radar and optic capabilities to see at the same time a wider surface area than the two other types of satellites.Each possibility is known by a variety of code names, but whatever you call it, what is known for sure is that the satellite began its journey into space riding atop a Lockheed Martin-built Titan 4 launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 5:21 p.m. EDT (2121 GMT). Air Force officials report that all went well during the Titan's climb to orbit. The secret spacecraft separated from the booster's second stage at nine minutes and 32 seconds after launch from Space Launch Complex 4 East. For the NRO, Friday's launch marked the second in a trio of spy satellites the agency plans to launch from both coasts within a short period of time. On Sept. 8 an Atlas 2AS carried an NRO payload into orbit from California. The satellite is believed to be some kind of signals detection spacecraft that makes it possible for intelligence officials to locate ocean-going ships and determine their intent. Next up for the NRO -- and the next launch schduled to fly from Earth -- is another Atlas 2AS rocket, this time to be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station late next Wednesday, Oct. 10. Depending on which orbit the rocket flies into, the classified spacecraft is either a communications relay satellite or a spacecraft capable of intercepting and listening in on enemy communications. Launch is planned for 10:15 p.m. EDT (0215 GMT Oct. 11).
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