Delta 4 Rocket Set to Launch U.S. Spy Satellite
A Delta 4 rocket on the launchpad.
Image source: Spaceflight Now / Boeing
Image source: Spaceflight Now / Boeing
A Spaceflight Now article by Justin Ray, via Space.com, reports that:
The inaugural West Coast launch of Boeing's Delta 4 rocket passed the final readiness reviews Monday, affirming plans for liftoff Tuesday evening carrying a classified national security spy satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.More here.
Liftoff will happen sometime between 7 and 9 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. and midnight EDT; 0200-0400 GMT). The actual launch time and the available window to get the rocket airborne fall within that two-hour period. The real liftoff timing remains hush-hush for now.
The payload for Tuesday's mission is a classified spacecraft for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, the secretive government agency responsible for operating the nation's network of spy satellites. The Delta 4 will haul the craft into a highly inclined, highly elliptical orbit.
posted by Fergie @ 6/27/2006 04:07:00 PM
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