Shhh: U.S. spy satellite blasts into space
An unmanned Delta 4 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Friday carrying a spy satellite. And that's about all that the general public really knows at this point.
The rocket launch, which had briefly been delayed because of high winds, is hauling along a satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. So what's going up there? Cue Hollywood and let your imaginations roam. For the record, the Air Force Space Command put out a terse comment under the byline of Col. James Ross of the 45th Space Wing vice commander. He explained that the mission "helps ensure that crucial NRO resources will continue to strengthen our national defense."
However, there are some common strands to follow. The launch follows by less than a week the Air Force's launch of its second secret X-37B space plane on yet another clandestine mission. Both that spacecraft and this launch blasted off on a rocket provided by United Launch Alliance, a Virginia-based company that designs, builds and operates the U.S's intelligence-gathering spy satellite network.
Jim Sponnick, a vice president at ULA, said in a statement that these missions play an important part "in protecting our freedoms and supporting our brave men and women deployed around the world."