Here's What We Know About The US Spy Satellite Launching This Week
The launch is known simply as NROL-67, a classified satellite-delivery flight for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The NRO is the secretive government agency that controls the country's spy satellites.
"From developing and acquiring new capabilities to launching and operating the most technically advanced systems, the NRO remains the premier space reconnaissance organization in the world," said NRO Director Betty Sapp.
The specific version of the Atlas 5 being used on this launch has been flown once before, to lob NASA's Curiosity rover to Mars.
It is the 44th Atlas launch and the 9th for the NRO. It will be ULA's 80th launch overall and third of 15 this year.
Read more:
http://www.space.com/25197-spy-satellite-launch-preview-nrol67.html
Powering the Atlas 5 during the first four minutes of flight is the RD-180 liquid-fueled engine. The liquid oxygen/kerosene powerplant is a two-thrust chamber, two-nozzle engine made by NPO Energomash of Khimky, Russia. It was developed from the RD-170 engine used by Russia's Energia-Buran space shuttle, the Energia-M and Ukrainian Zenit rockets.
