LaunchesNROL-4
USAFSUCCESS
NROL-4
Titan 401A Centaur · Government/Top Secret
1997Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral
Mission
Trumpet signal intelligence satellites were launched by Titan-4(01)A Centaur-T into highly elliptic Molniya-type orbits. In their elliptical orbits they would move very slowly over the northern hemisphere for most of their orbital period, allowing interception of microwave line-of-sight communications beams. Since they would move slowly through the beams during their orbit, a constellation of such satellites was required to monitor Soviet communications throughout the day.
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Mission Facts
- Provider
- USAF
- Rocket
- Titan 401A Centaur
- Orbit
- Direct-GEO
- Pad
- Space Launch Complex 41
- NET precision
- Year
- Data source
- LL2