USA 202,
previously NRO Launch 26 or NROL-26, is a
classified spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...
which is operated by the United States
National Reconnaissance Office
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. fe ...
. It is an
Advanced Orion
Orion, also known as Mentor or Advanced Orion, is a class of United States spy satellites that collect signals intelligence (SIGINT) from space. Operated by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and developed with input from the Centra ...
ELINT
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...
satellite. According to ''
Aviation Week
''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviatio ...
,'' it "fundamentally involves America's biggest, most secret and expensive military spacecraft on board the world's largest rocket."
The combined cost of the spacecraft and
launch vehicle
A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload ( spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and ...
has been estimated to be over
US$2 billion.
Amateur astronomer observations suspected the satellite was eavesdropping on
Thuraya
Thuraya ( ar, الثريا, Gulf Arabic pron.: ; from the Arabic name for the constellation of the Pleiades, ''Thurayya'') is a United Arab Emirates-based regional mobile-satellite service (MSS) provider. The company operates two geosynchronous ...
2 and this was reported to be confirmed by documents released on Sep 9, 2016 by ''
The Intercept
''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing news website founded by Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, Laura Poitras and funded by billionaire eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar. Its current editor is Betsy Reed. The publication initially reporte ...
'' as part of the
Snowden Files.
Launch
USA-202 was launched from
Space Launch Complex 37B at the
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.
Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the statio ...
, on the third flight of a
Delta IV
Delta IV is a group of five expendable launch systems in the Delta rocket family introduced in the early 2000s. Originally designed by Boeing's Defense, Space and Security division for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, t ...
Heavy rocket. The launch was originally scheduled for 2005, but was delayed due to a number of issues, and lift-off took place at 02:47 GMT on 18 January 2009.
References
External links
Delta IV Heavy NROL-26- launch information from ULA.
The USA 202 ORION satelliteA technical analysis of the satellite
National Reconnaissance Office satellites
Spacecraft launched in 2009
Spacecraft launched by Delta IV rockets
USA satellites
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