How does one of the top 16 intelligent agencies in the United States, operating on United States reconnaissance satellites, have two of their top secret NRO ocean surveillance spacecraft fired into the wrong orbit? With heads hanging hopefully low, the United States Air Force had managed the flight which went haywire June 15. Responsible for the Atlas V launch, both the NRO and USAF are beginning an official investigation into the launch and its malfunction. The $83 million Atlas Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle was used in the flight, the first time that NRO had used it. Hmmm...and maybe the last one.
The two secret spaceships, which are not secret anymore, were critical to tracking the concealment of al Qaeda terrorists inside ships, while also tracking Iranian and Chinese sea-based military operations, according to SpaceRef.com. Built by Lockheed Martin, it is now ran by United Launch Alliance (ULA), and manages the launch with NRO and the Air Force's 45th Space Wing, responsible for the operation of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. At this time, it is not known whether the spacecraft malfunctions occurred in the engine itself, or in electronics associated with the engine and overall stage.
The NRO is well known for coordinating collection and the analysis of information from two sources-airplanes, and also from satellite reconnaissance by the military and CIA-funded through the National Reconnaissance Program, which in turn is part of the National Foreign Intelligence Program, with the agency part of the Department of Defense. Yet the NRO does not work alone but with several intelligence and space partners: National Security Agency, or the NSA; National Geospatial-Intelligency Agency, or NGA; Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA; Defense Intelligence Agency, or DIA; United States Strategic Command; and Naval Research Laboratory. Overall, the agency is responsible mainly for collecting and distributing reconnaissance intelligence, with operations around the world through many Ground Stations.
Nancy Houser, author of "A Mars Odyssey," is a freelance writer and illustrator of 30 years. Living in Central Nebraska running a dog rescue, she fills her leisurely time with 13 grandchildren and watching the skies.
