Ummm. No. Complete nonsense.
Virtually all US reconnaissance satellites are in polar (north-south) orbits - thus as the earth rotates you can cover the entire earth. Given that this one was launched from Vandenberg AFB in California, it's almost certainly in a polar orbit.
There were plans for a Shuttle launch facility at Vandenberg for the sole purpose of launching and servicing military polar payloads that were abandoned after the Challenger disaster.
It would be a physical impossibility for the Space Shuttle to get anywhere NEAR this satellite because you can't launch into polar orbits from the KSC.
That's what I said. It was a political decision not to support those classified missions anymore.
It would be a physical impossibility for the Space Shuttle to get anywhere NEAR this satellite because you can't launch into polar orbits from the KSC.
That's correct. But if NASA had not chosed to be PC and not support those classified military missions, that launch complex would be operational and the shuttle would be able to repair this satellite by launching from there. That's what it was designed for. The shuttle's payload bay was enlarged during the design phase to allow for the recovery of such satellites. Were it not for NASA's decision to no longer support classified military missions, they would be able to repair this satellite -- just like I said.