Posted on 06/15/2021 10:10:42 AM PDT by BenLurkin
The company used their solid propellant Minotaur I rocket to place the payloads into a low Earth orbit with a liftoff from Pad-0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia occurring on Tuesday, June 15 at 13:35 UTC (09:35 EDT).
Due to the classified nature of the launch, nothing is publicly known about the payloads. However, the mass must be less than 580 kg, which is the max payload capacity of the Minotaur I.
In keeping with NRO tradition, the mission patch consists of a whimsical piece of artwork, a mission motto, and some clues as to the nature of the flight. For NROL-111, the patch features a wild boar in aviator gear.
The Minotaur family of rockets have an extensive history in spaceflight, having first been developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (now absorbed by Northrop Grumman) for the US Air Force’s Orbital/Suborbital Program as a low-cost Space Launch Vehicle.
The rocket utilizes a combination of proven orbital space launch technologies and government-supplied decommissioned ICBMs as a result of arms reduction treaties.
A successor to the Minotaur-C (previously named Taurus) launch vehicle, Minotaur I consists of a Minuteman II-derived M55A1 first stage and an SR19 second stage. Manufactured by the now-defunct Thiokol (bought by ATK Launch Systems which then merged with Orbital Sciences to form Orbital ATK… which was then bought by Northrop Grumman), the first stage produces 891 kilonewtons while the Aerojet Rocketdyne-manufactured second stage has 268 kilonewtons of thrust.
(Excerpt) Read more at nasaspaceflight.com ...
Star wars coming to fruition.
Precision surveillance.
That’s all low earth orbit is good for.
So pigs are flying.......................
Well, there is low latency.
Kind of a popular viewpoint at the moment...
Yes, but which pigs?
I was wondering why my cable tv picture was better.
It's no coincidence that not long after Trump is gone, the DEEP STATE CABAL can RAMP UP SPYING ON AMERICAN CITIZENS, NAMELY SUPPORTERS OF TRUMP.
FACT: The STATED purpose of a satellite is NOT always the ACTUAL purpose of the satellite.
Precision surveillance.
Of whom?
580kg = 1278lbs btw
Well that is a cool patch.
I wonder what vineyard that wild boar is to be ser loose in.
“nothing is publicly known about the payloads. However, the mass must be less than 580 kg”
Rules out Jerry Nadler.
well, aren’t you special.
And that is just Nadler’s pants and underwear.
p
Dedicated exclusively to a Geo-synchronous satellite over Mara Largo.
The LGBTQ military wants to scan the grounds continuously to catch someone being less than perverse.( sarc.)
well I guess it ain’t “classified” no more.
I’m still not used to Orbital as part of NG.
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