Posted on 09/13/2009 11:04:16 AM PDT by BGHater
Few details available about military mission ... except that it succeeded
An Atlas 5 rocket has lifted off from Florida carrying a highly classified military satellite.
The rocket launched into a nearly cloudless sky at 5:35 p.m. ET Tuesday.
United Launch Alliance, a joint venture involving Lockheed Martin and Boeing, handled the launch.
Eric Brian, a spokesman for the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, declined to say which branch of the military will command the satellite in orbit. Brian said the rocket carried a $500 million payload. The satellite was made by Lockheed Martin.
United Launch Alliance would say only that the payload reached its initial intended orbit about two hours after liftoff. The satellite, known as P360/PAN, appeared to be headed for a geostationary orbit.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
I wonder how close 2 satellites on that same orbit could be without affecting each other.
If one satellite is over a cigar store in Kampala, Uganda, for example, and another is over a barber shop on the next block, are they too close to each other?
Good question. In Arthur C. Clarke’s book “The Fountains of Paradise” they actually link all of the satellites together into one continuous band around the Earth.
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