NROL-52 – Atlas V 421 (AV-075) – Канаверал SLC-41 – 15.10.2017 07:28 UTC

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Atlas V NROL-52 LIVE Launch Broadcast (Oct. 15)

United Launch Alliance

(33:58 )

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http://www.ulalaunch.com/ula-successfully-launches-nrol52-mission.aspx

United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches NROL-52 Mission for the National Reconnaissance Office

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., (Oct. 15, 2017) – A United Launch Alliance  (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office lifted off  from Space Launch Complex-41 on Oct. 15 at 3:28 a.m. EDT. Designated NROL-52, the mission is in support of national security.

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"Today's launch is a testament to the tireless dedication of the ULA team, demonstrating why ULA continues to serve as our nation's most dependable and successful launch provider," said Laura Maginnis, ULA vice president of Government Satellite Launch. "After recovering from Hurricane Irma that came through the area last month, and the last week's weather challenges, the team found the right opportunity today to deliver this critical national asset to orbit."

This mission was launched aboard an Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) 421 configuration vehicle, which includes a 4-meter payload fairing (PLF) and two solid rocket boosters. The Atlas booster for this mission was powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine, and the Centaur upper stage was powered by the Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C-1 engine.

This is ULA's 7th launch in 2017 and the 122nd successful launch since the company was formed in December 2006.

"I want to thank the entire ULA team and our mission partners at the NRO and U.S. Air Force who made this, our 26th NRO launch, successful," said Maginnis.

The EELV program was established by the USAF to provide assured access to space for Department of Defense and other government payloads. The commercially developed EELV program supports the full range of government mission requirements, while delivering on schedule and providing significant cost savings over the legacy launch systems.

ULA's next launch is the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 for NASA and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. The launch is scheduled for Nov. 10 at 1:47 a.m. PST from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

With more than a century of combined heritage, United Launch Alliance is the nation's most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 120 satellites to orbit that aid meteorologists in tracking severe weather, unlock the mysteries of our solar system, provide critical capabilities for troops in the field and enable personal device-based GPS navigation.

For more information on ULA, visit the ULA website at www.ulalaunch.com, or call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321). Join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch, twitter.com/ulalaunch and instagram.com/ulalaunch.

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Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 5 ч. назад

ULA confirms Atlas V launch with NROL-52 was a success. ARTICLE: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/10/ula-atlas-v-nrol-52-launch-cape-canaveral/ ... COVERAGE: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=42905.0 ... ULA Photos:

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Atlas V successfully launches with NROL-52

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Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno 1 ч. назад

122

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Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow 6 ч. назад

MISSION SUCCESS is declared in today's satellite launch performed by the Atlas 5 rocket from the Cape https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/10/02/av075_journal/ ...

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Jonathan McDowell @planet4589  51m

USA-279 is believed to be a QUASAR communications sat which relays images and data from spy sats. It's expected to go to geostationary orbit

Jonathan McDowell‏ @planet4589  49m

The QUASAR sats are likely built by @BoeingDefense/El Segundo, California (former Hughes)

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John Kraus‏ @johnkrausphotos 7 ч. назад

Atlas V soars from SLC-41 with @NatReconOfc #NROL52 payload at 3:28am this morning! @torybruno @ulalaunch @45thSpaceWing

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Stephen Clark‏ @StephenClark1 7 ч. назад

A shot of this morning's Atlas 5 #NROL52 launch as viewed from the Kennedy Space Center press site.

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NRO‏Подлинная учетная запись @NatReconOfc 6 ч. назад

Congratulations to the team who helped make #NROL52 a success! @ulalaunch @45thSpaceWing @AF_SMC @AF_SMC

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Michael Seeley‏ @Mike_Seeley 7 ч. назад

Liftoff of the @ulalaunch #NROL52 #AtlasV rocket! Congrats to the ULA team and thanks to the @45thSpaceWing for their always great support.

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45th Space Wing‏ @45thSpaceWing 7 ч. назад

The men and women of the 45SW continue to make the impossible possible! Recover from Irma 2 launches in 4 days

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Gen. Jay Raymond‏ @AFSpaceCC 3 ч. назад

Congratulations to the @45thSpaceWing, @NatReconOfc, @AF_SMC & @ulalaunch for a successful Atlas V launch this morning!

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http://spaceflight101.com/atlas-v-nrol-52/atlas-v-launches-nrol-52-satellite/

Atlas V Blasts Off fr om Florida on Fifth Attempt, Classified NROL-52 Satellite Confirmed in Orbit
October 15, 2017

Lifting a classified satellite in the interests of U.S. National Security, ULA's Atlas V rocket lit up the night skies over Florida's Atlantic Coast on Sunday – finally getting off the ground on its fifth launch attempt. Hidden fr om view under the rocket's payload fairing was NROL-52 – a classified satellite of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, likely joining a constellation of spacecraft tasked with relaying reconnaissance data fr om America's orbiting spy assets.

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Photo: United Launch Alliance

Enlisting the help of two Solid Rocket Boosters for extra push, Atlas V lifted off fr om Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 at 7:28 UTC, 3:28 a.m. local time. Rising vertically for just a handful of seconds, Atlas V swung to the south-east and dropped its boosters into the ocean two minutes after launch, continuing into space powered by its Russian-built RD-180 main engine. The trusted Centaur assumed control of the flight after passing the four-minute mark and the fairing fell away ten seconds into the upper stage burn – marking the start of a pre-arranged news blackout to allow NROL-52 to reach its secret orbital destination without the public watching.


Photo: United Launch Alliance

Despite the NRO's secret-keeping policy when it comes to the agency's launches, it is quite clear wh ere NROL-52 is headed from navigational warnings published prior to launch, lining up with the standard departure path from Florida when heading into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit. Employing a two-burn flight profile, NROL-52 will separate from its booster less than one hour after launch into a highly elliptical orbit from wh ere it will employ its own engine to climb into a stationary position nearly 36,000 Kilometers over the equator.

Confirmation of launch success for AV-075 and NROL-52 was provided by ULA around one and a half hours after liftoff and will be the last heard of the classified satellite, though satellite observers are at the ready to spot the satellite and monitor wh ere it will settle once arriving in its operational orbit.


NROL-52 Mission Patch – Image: NRO

Sunday's launch marked the fourth NRO launch of the year, following the NROL-79 ship-tracking satellites launched on an Atlas in March, the mysterious NROL-76 that went up on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in May and buzzed the International Space Station a short time later, and the recent Atlas V launch from California with the NROL-42 electronic intelligence satellite. For Atlas V, Sunday's launch was the sixth and final planned mission in 2017 and the 74th flight since the rocket's debut in 2002.

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) operates within the framework of the various three-letter intelligence agencies in the U.S. as a link between the Department of Defence and the Intelligence Community, tasked with the design, procurement, launch and operation of all the country's intelligence-gathering & support satellites and the distribution of satellite intelligence other agencies including the CIA and NSA. Founded in 1961, the NRO operated as a black organization for the first three decades of its existence before being disclosed to the public and beginning to announce its launches in advance.

As an intelligence agency, the NRO makes efforts to keep all its activities secret, including the identity of satellites it sends into orbit. However, occasional leaks, knowledge on previous NRO programs and watching satellite activity in orbit can provide valuable information for the identification of satellites and uncover their objectives.

>> Identifying the Classified NROL-52 Satellite


Declassified Image of Early SDS Satellite – Credit: National Reconnaissance Office

NROL-52 was a close repeat of the NROL-61 mission of 2016, the only previous NRO use of an Atlas V 421 rocket, indicating the two are launching the same type of spacecraft – further supported by downrange safety areas that lined up perfectly for the two missions. NROL-61 was understood to be the first in a new generation of Satellite Data System (SDS) satellites and was found in the days after launch in a Geostationary Transfer Orbit of 1,100 by 35,800 Kilometers and has since begun serving as USA 269 within the operational SDS constellation from a position near 90°E over the Indian Ocean.

The Satellite Data System – flying under the code name Quasar – debuted in 1976 and has since gone through four generations of satellites, starting out as a constellation of satellites in highly elliptical Molniya orbits to guarantee robust communications over the northern hemisphere as the Soviet Union was the prime target of space-based spying efforts in those days. Four second generation satellites went up in the 80s and 90s when the system switched to a combination of Molniya and Geostationary Satellites for global coverage.


Photo: United Launch Alliance

The third generation continued this architecture until the replenishment of Molniya satellites apparently stopped in 2007, likely marking the transition to a fully GEO-based system.

SDS is similar to NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System in that it places satellites into high orbits to relay communications to lower-orbiting satellites – allowing flight controllers to command satellites in real time for the majority of their orbits and enabling reconnaissance data, e.g. images from the Keyhole satellites, to be delivered to analysts almost immediately after acquisition. Additionally, SDS supports the Air Force Satellite Control Network and can be used for secure aeronautical communications.

The switch to the Atlas V 421 rocket for the fourth generation SDS satellites while predecessor craft used the less-powerful Atlas V 401 or Delta IV M+(4,2) suggests they have gained mass; the change from the Long Payload Fairing to the Extra-Extended Fairing also indicates the satellites got larger, possibly due to bigger communication antennas. Atlas V 421 can deliver up to five metric tons into the NROL-52/61 target orbit, placing an upper bar to the satellite's mass – making them heavier than the latest generation of TDRSS craft that weighed in at 3.5 tonnes and used Atlas V 401 vehicles.

NROL-52 had a ten-day battle with Florida weather and technical gremlins before finally making it off the pad. Launch attempts on October 5 and 6 had to be scrubbed for high winds and lightning, respectively, and a third try to launch ended when the rocket's S-Band telemetry transmitter was found to be defective. Atlas V returned to its integration facility on Monday and had the transmitter replaced & re-tested by Wednesday, allowing the 59-meter tall vehicle to return to the pad on Thursday.

A launch attempt on Saturday could not move further than the T-4-minute hold point due to persistent showers and gusty ground winds over the Cape Canaveral space port.

Facing a more positive weather outlook, Atlas V was powered up for a seven-hour countdown that began with a comprehensive set of checks while engineers closed out the launch complex in preparation for tanking.

>> Atlas V Launch Vehicle Overview


Photo: United Launch Alliance

Atlas V entered cryogenic tanking once clocks began ticking after a planned hold at T-2 hours, receiving 185,000 liters of -183°C Liquid Oxygen on its first stage while the Centaur upper stage was filled with 15,700 liters of LOX and 48,000 liters of -253°C Liquid Hydrogen fuel. The first stage had received its dose of 94,600 liters of Rocket Propellant 1 before the night's countdown, leaving only cryogenic propellants plus Helium pressurant gas to be loaded.

Illuminated by floodlights, Atlas V was filled with 305 metric tons of liquid propellants as the countdown ticked along as planned without any technical problems and a favorable trend in the weather. As clocks picked up at T-4 minutes, computers assumed full control of the countdown with Atlas V terminating propellant load and pressurizing its tanks, switching to internal power, arming its flight termination system and taking over control at the T-2 minute mark. Final status checks with the Eastern Range and Launch Director in the last minute cleared the vehicle into its ignition sequence.


Photo: United Launch Alliance

Atlas V came to life at T-3 seconds when the two-chamber RD-180 engine fired up to soar to a launch thrust of 390 metric ton-force under the close supervision of computers to ensure the engine was working properly before committing the vehicle to flight with the ignition of the boosters. Liftoff occurred at 7:28:00 UTC when Atlas V fired up its twin Solid Rocket Boosters to leap off its pad with a thrust of 735 metric ton-force.

Atlas V shot up vertically for only five seconds before the boosters and main engine chambers were gimbaled for the rocket to pitch over and roll onto a 99-degree launch azimuth, departing Florida to the south east on the standard path toward a Geotransfer Orbit. The vehicle passed the speed of sound 37 seconds after blasting off and the RD-180 engine throttled back briefly around 52 seconds into the mission when Atlas V encountered maximum aerodynamic pressure on its way through the dense atmosphere.

Each contributing 172 metric-ton-force to the vehicle's overall thrust, the two boosters exhausted their 41-tonne propellant supply 94 seconds into the flight and thrust began tailing off. Atlas V held the boosters for another 35 seconds in order to separate them in more favorable aerodynamic conditions, ensuring the 17-meter long SRBs would drop away cleanly. Continuing on toward space, Atlas V switched into Closed Loop Control after flying a pre-programmed attitude profile when ascending through the discernible atmosphere wh ere winds can influence the loads experienced on the vehicle.


Photo: United Launch Alliance

Approaching staging, Atlas V began throttling back on the RD-180 engine to maintain a constant acceleration at 4.6Gs as the vehicle got lighter and lighter. Meanwhile, Centaur prepared for operation by chilling down its RL-10 engine and firing a pyro valve enabling pressurization gas to prime the Reaction Control System.

The end of the first stage burn came with a clean shutdown of the RD-180 engine four minutes and ten seconds into the flight, followed six seconds later by the separation of the empty first stage via pyrotechnics and retrorockets to clear the way for upper stage ignition. Upon staging, Centaur entered into RL-10C pre-start before igniters fired to enable the 10,200-Kilogram-force engine to begin its first burn to lift the stack into an initial parking orbit.

Separation of the payload fairing occurred ten seconds into operation of the Centaur as Atlas V shed further weight since aerodynamic forces could no-longer harm the classified satellite. At the time of fairing jettison, Atlas V was already traveling 5.2 Kilometers per second, crossing an altitude of 110 Kilometers.


NROL-52 Ascent Path (Typical GTO Trajectory) – Image: United Launch Alliance

Per the usual procedure of the NRO's secretive launches, Atlas V entered a pre-arranged news blackout at the point of fairing separation with no more details on the mission's progress shared in real time.

Per the NROL-61 launch, Centaur was likely to employ a two-burn ascent profile with an initial boost into an elliptical Parking Orbit for a coast phase of under one hour in order to gain altitude. The second burn was to boost the apogee of the orbit and reduce its inclination to achieve a Geotransfer injection with increased perigee. Based on NROL-61, Satellite Analyst Ted Molczan expects NROL-52 to show up in an orbit around 1,108 by 35,806 Kilometers, inclined 18.68°.

The Centaur upper stage will be tasked with a retrograde deorbit maneuver a little over an hour into the mission to set it up for destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean, south of Hawaii.

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Слава богу, выпихнули.

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Atlas V NROL-52 Launch Highlights

United Launch Alliance

Опубликовано: 15 окт. 2017 г.

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http://spaceflight101.com/atlas-v-nrol-52/dazzling-photos-of-atlas-vs-early-morning-blastoff-on-classified-government-mission/

Dazzling Photos of Atlas V's Early Morning Blastoff on Classified Government Mission
October 15, 2017

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 421 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 at 7:28 UTC on Sunday, October 15, 2017 on a classified mission with the NROL-52 satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. The early morning launch came on the fifth attempt to get Atlas V off the ground, a record for the workhorse launch vehicle – checking off its sixth and final planned mission in 2017. Confirmation of NROL-52 launch success came one and a half hours after launch; the satellite is believed to be the second in the fourth generation of the Satellite Data System communications infrastructure used to relay reconnaissance data gathered by other NRO birds in real time.

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>> Read our Launch Recap

All Photos: United Launch Alliance

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/10/15/photos-news-media-shots-of-the-nrol-52-liftoff/

Photos: News media shots of the NROL-52 liftoff
October 15, 2017 Justin Ray

Cape Canaveral was the point of origination for the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket and the classified NROL-52 payload.

Photo Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

See earlier NROL-52 coverage.

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/10/15/atlas-5-pierces-the-night-to-boost-national-security-satellite-into-space/

Atlas 5 pierces the night to boost national security satellite into space
October 15, 2017 Justin Ray

CAPE CANAVERAL — A covert communications relay station to route spy satellite data directly to users was successfully launched by a million-pound Atlas 5 rocket overnight.

The United Launch Alliance rocket left Cape Canaveral under the cover of darkness at 3:28 a.m. EDT (0728 GMT), dodging rain showers while speeding through decks of clouds, for a trek to geosynchronous transfer orbit to deploy the NROL-52 spacecraft.

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The fifth launch attempt proved to be the charm for NROL-52 after four thwarted tries over the past week, mainly due to bad weather.

The last Atlas variant of any kind with this many scrubs was AC-167, the final Atlas 2AS in 2004, that experienced four scrubs and launched on the fifth try.

The Atlas 5-421 vehicle, powered by its main engine and and two thrust-augmentation solid rocket boosters, thundered eastward on the company's second mission in service to the National Reconnaissance Office in three weeks.

Out of the public eye, the high-energy Centaur upper stage performed a pair of burns that shaped the preliminary orbit of the payload.

An official declaration of launch success came about 90 minutes after liftoff, marking the 145th consecutive successful Atlas program launch spanning more than two decades and the 74th for an Atlas 5.

"After recovering from Hurricane Irma that came through the area last month, and the last week's weather challenges, the team found the right opportunity today to deliver this critical national asset to orbit," Laura Maginnis, ULA vice president of Government Satellite Launch, said in the post-launch press release.

"Today's launch is a testament to the tireless dedication of the ULA team, demonstrating why ULA continues to serve as our nation's most dependable and successful launch provider."

It was United Launch Alliance's 122nd successful mission. The firm has averaged one launch per month, every month, for the past 11 years.


The Atlas 5 rocket has performed 74 launches. Stats now stand at 26 flights dedicated to the Defense Department, 17 commercial missions, 16 for the National Reconnaissance Office and 15 for NASA. Photos by Pat Corkery, Jeff Spotts, Ben Cooper, Walter Scriptunas II, James Murati, Gene Blevins, Bill Hartenstein, Alex Polimeni and Justin Ray

Little to nothing is known about the secretive spacecraft launched today. But there is plenty of speculation that this is another relay platform for the NRO as part of the Satellite Data System.

"The QUASAR (SDS) system's main role is probably still data relay for NRO imaging and radar satellites in low orbit," said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and noted space historian.

Likely the second one built in its generation, the payload will be operated in geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth to enable the NRO to receive timely imagery and data from its fleet of low-earth-orbiting surveillance observatories.

A similar Atlas launch was accomplished last summer, likely the beginnings of the fourth generation for SDS. The program once had the codename QUASAR.

"NROL-61, launched in July 2016, is believed to be an SDS, in part because it operates in a geosynchronous slot known to have been occupied by earlier SDS spacecraft. It is believed to be the first fourth generation SDS, due to the increase in mass and size over earlier models, that could be inferred from its launch vehicle and fairing. The NOTAM coordinates of the NROL-52 launch are nearly identical to those of NROL-61; therefore, it almost certainly will enter a similar orbit," said respected satellite observer Ted Molczan.

The satellite will have a constant view of nearly one-third of the globe, allowing receipt of the reconnaissance data and routing it to a central ground hub.

Exquisite-class electro-optical and radar-imaging satellites operate much closer to Earth, causing them to remain out of contact with ground-receiving stations during most of each orbit.

The NRO has been sending up SDS birds since 1976 to receive transmissions from surveillance craft. The SDS constellation enables the data to reach analysts much quicker than waiting for the spy satellites themselves to pass over the relatively few number of ground antennas.

"The first imagery intelligence satellites took photos on film, which had two drawbacks: the film had to be returned to Earth for processing, often resulting in unacceptable delays in obtaining intelligence; once the film ran out, the satellites became useless, Molczan said.

"The KH-11 electro-optical satellites, first launched in 1976, solved these problems by doing away with film, and taking their images electronically, much like modern digital cameras. Transmitting their imagery reduced the time required to obtain intelligence, but since KH-11 operates in low-Earth orbit, it is seldom within range of ground stations. One solution would have been to store the data for later transmission, but that would have introduced significant delays. Instead, KH-11 was provided with a set of dedicated relay satellites, called SDS."



SDS acts in similar fashion to NASA's civilian Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to route communications from the International Space Station and science data from unmanned observatories.
Sky-watchers say that the NRO originally used highly elliptical, highly inclined orbits for SDS. The first use of geosynchronous orbit around the planet's equator was in 1990 after an SDS was launched by the crew of space shuttle Atlantis.

"The unprecedented nearly 10-year gap since the launch of an SDS to Molniya orbit has led to speculation that the NRO is transitioning to an all-GEO constellation. Time will tell. I have no idea why GEO would be preferred over Molniya," Molczan said.

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** GEOSYNCHRONOUS QUASARS **

SDS 2-2 -- Atlantis STS-38 ..............Nov. 15, 1990

SDS 3-2 -- Atlas 2AS AC-157 (NROL-10)....Dec. 6, 2000
SDS 3-3 -- Atlas 2AS AC-162 (NROL-12). ..Oct. 11, 2001
SDS 3-6 -- Delta 4M+4,2 (NROL-27)........March 11, 2011
SDS 3-7 -- Atlas 5-401 AV-023 (NROL-3 8) ..June 20, 2012
SDS 3-8 -- Atlas 5-401 AV-046 (NROL-33)..May 22, 2014

SDS 4-1 -- Atlas 5-421 AV-065 (NROL-61)..July 28, 2016
SDS 4-2 -- Atlas 5-421 AV-075 (NROL-52)..Oct. 15, 2017ULA has two more high-profile launches to go this year, both from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The $1.6 billion JPSS 1 polar-orbiting weather observatory will be lofted by the penultimate Delta 2 rocket in November and the NROL-47 payload will be launched by a Delta 4 in December.

The next Atlas 5 is planned for January to loft a missile early-warning satellite for the Air Force.

See earlier NROL-52 coverage.

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Scott Tilley‏ @coastal8049 4 ч. назад

#NROL52 payload, presumably USA279, S-Band TT&C copied. S/C appears alive. SGLS 9 is a busy place! 'x' indicates spurious signal.



Scott Tilley‏ @coastal8049 4 ч. назад

#NROL52 payload, USA 279, exhibits ~240 second period to TT&C beacon signal strength as did USA 269 at this stage.

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Scott Tilley‏ @coastal8049 2 ч. назад

#NROL52, USA 279, produces nice Doppler curve that supports Paul Camilleri's observations and Molczan's refined TLE http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Oct-2017/0068.html ...