14 DAY TRIAL // Officials with the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the agency in charge of operating America's spy satellites, announce that a new intelligence-gathering spacecraft will be boosted into orbit later today, March 25, aboard an Atlas 5 rocket provided by the United Launch Alliance.
Liftoff will occur from Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida and the Atlas 5 will most likely inject its payload into an orbit about 35,888 kilometers (22,300 miles) above Earth's surface. This is the same geosynchronous orbit used by other NRO intelligence satellites, Space reports.
According to ULA specifications, the delivery system is capable of injecting a spacecraft weighing a maximum of 3,358 kilograms (7,800 pounds) into this type of orbit. The new mission, known simply as NROL-67, has a 40 percent chance of launching between 2:48 pm and 3:35 pm EDT (1848 to 1935 GMT) today. A thick cloud cover over Florida may force an abort later in the day.
The 68 successful launches conducted under the ULA/NRO collaboration to date “are a visible testament to the diligent efforts of our program teams who successfully acquire and deliver these complex systems, and each one signifies that a new system will soon be providing enhanced intelligence capabilities to the warfighter,” said Betty Sapp, the director of the NRO.