Washington,A rocket carrying a spy satellite lifted off from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in the US state of California Wednesday, sources said.
The United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, announced through its Facebook and Twitter webcast that the satellite was launched on a Delta IV Heavy rocket, the largest of the kind, at 11:03 a.m. local time, Xinhua reported
However, it did not say when the satellite would enter the orbit.
The launch was named as the NROL-65 mission as it was done for the National Reconnaissance Office, which is in charge of US intelligence-gathering satellites, according to the sources in United Launch Alliance, which also developed the rocket together with the US Air Force.
Details about the satellite is not available. But a report in the Los Angeles Times said the payload in Wednesday's launch is said to be "a $1-billion high-powered spy satellite capable of snapping pictures detailed enough to distinguish the make and model of an automobile hundreds of miles below."
However, it did not say when the satellite would enter the orbit.
The launch was named as the NROL-65 mission as it was done for the National Reconnaissance Office, which is in charge of US intelligence-gathering satellites, according to the sources in United Launch Alliance, which also developed the rocket together with the US Air Force.
Details about the satellite is not available. But a report in the Los Angeles Times said the payload in Wednesday's launch is said to be "a $1-billion high-powered spy satellite capable of snapping pictures detailed enough to distinguish the make and model of an automobile hundreds of miles below."
No comments:
Post a Comment