Long delayed classified U.S. NRO L-26 satellite launched

William Atkins
Monday, 19 January 2009 21:36

Science - Space

The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) L-26 satellite, also called USA 202, was launched on Sunday, January 18, 2009, aboard a Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle by the United Launch Alliance. The classified mission was delayed a number of times due to technical problems.


Launched from Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the NRO L-26 (or NROL 26) successfully began its flight into orbit about the Earth at 9:47 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), 0247 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Dramatic pictures of the launch sequence is found at LaunchPhotography.com.

The MRO mission was the first that the federal defense agency had used a Delta IV Heavy rocket.

It was the third flight of the Delta IV Heavy rocket for the Delta program, with the first being a demonstration flight in December 2004 and its first operational mission occurring in November 2007 for the U.S. Air Force.

The Delta 4-Heavy launch craft is the largest rocket, according to height, since the Saturn V rockets used during the Apollo program in the 1960s and 1970s. The rocket is approximately the same height as a 24-story building.

The ULA/Boeing Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle uses a center common booster core, along with two strap-on common booster cores.

The RS-68 cryogenic engine, built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, powers each booster core, on the first stage. One RL10B-2 cryogenic engine powers the second stage, which is also built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.

Page two includes more information on the RS-68 engines, along with additional information on the mission itself.