..put on your good clothes..and smile real pretty like
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) — The Air Force has launched a rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying a top-secret satellite for the United States.
The unmanned Atlas V rocket lifted off Wednesday morning. On board was a satellite belonging to the National Reconnaissance Office.
The office declined for security reasons to provide any details of the satellite, its mission or even whether it reached orbit.
A launch attempt Monday was foiled by a problem with the environmental control system at the pad.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/20/atlas-v-rocket-launch-top-secret-us-satellite_n_1611811.html?utm_hp_ref=world&ir=World
Non morieris bello - "you will not die by war"
(http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av023/images/NROL38logo.jpg)
Video of the launch from Cape Canaveral.
:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbPQg7W9qXo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbPQg7W9qXo
QuoteDetails of the NROL-38 spacecraft and its mission are classified, however much can be inferred from what is known about the launch, and previous missions. The use of an Atlas V 401 means that the payload has relatively low mass, whilst NOTAMS issued for the launch show that the Atlas will fly due East from Cape Canaveral, indicating a low-inclination orbit.
The payload is therefore likely to be a Satellite Data System (SDS) communications satellite, destined for geostationary orbit. Previous Atlas launches of geostationary SDS satellites have used the less-powerful Atlas IIAS rocket to place the spacecraft into geosynchronous transfer orbits with comparatively low perigees, whereas the last launch, which used a Delta IV, placed its payload into a much higher transfer orbit.
The Atlas V's Centaur upper stage has been painted white, improving its ability to reflect heat on missions which require the Centaur to enter an extended coast phase. It is not clear whether an extended coast is required to deploy NROL-38; the Centaur was originally slated to be used in the launch of a GPS satellite which would have required a longer coast, and the Centaur may have to make a long coast between spacecraft separation and a disposal burn which will deorbit it into the Pacific Ocean. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/06/live-ula-atlas-v-50th-eelv-launch-nrol-38/