1 month ago
Rocket Lab launched a concealed National Reconnaissance Office ngo into abstraction early Thursday from Virginia. Image courtesy of Rocket Lab
March 21 (UPI) -- U.S.-based Rocket Lab launched an Electron rocket topped pinch concealed U.S. spy satellites early Thursday from Virginia.
The NROL-123 mission, called Live and Let Fly, launched astatine 3:25 a.m. EDT from Rocket Lab's dedicated Launch Complex 2 pad astatine nan Virginia Spaceport Authority Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport successful Wallops, Va.
The ngo was scheduled to motorboat astatine 2:40 a.m. but a clasp pushed it to nan extremity of nan motorboat window.
The ngo is Rocket Lab's 5th each clip for nan National Reconnaissance Office and nan company's first for nan U.S. section from nan United States.
Little accusation astir nan ngo was made publically available. No adjacent up shots of nan payload were permitted during nan unrecorded broadcast by nan NRO.
"NRO missions supply captious accusation to much than a half-million authorities users, including each personnel of nan intelligence community, 2 twelve home agencies, nan military, lawmakers and determination makers," Rocket Lab said successful a release connected nan mission.
Rocket Lab acquired nan ngo done nan NRO's Rapid Acquisition of a Small Rocket contract, which seeks to supply nan agency pinch a streamlined, commercialized action for launching mini orbitals into space.
The U.S-based institution has launched 46 Electron missions. Excluding Thursday's launch, Rocket Lab has put 178 satellites into space.
