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Performing a successful spacelift mission for the U.S. spy satellite agency, an Atlas 5 rocket delivered a surveillance package into orbit today believed by analysts to be another pair of tandem sleuths to scoop up radio signals from adversarial ships at sea.

Liftoff came at 9:49:51 a.m. local time (12:49:51 p.m. EST; 1749:51 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as the 191-foot-tall vehicle headed for space on its 70th mission.

The kerosene-fed RD-180 main engine powered the rocket off the pad at Space Launch Complex 3-East on South Vandenberg with 860,000 pounds of thrust.

It was a four-minute flight for the first stage before the cryogenic Centaur upper stage took over. The mission went into a news blackout once the 14-foot-diameter nose cone enclosing the payload was jettisoned about five minutes of liftoff.

The Centaur likely conducted two firings separated by a long coast period to achieve the 63-degree orbit for release of the payloads, thought to be two formation-flying satellites that will operate 700 miles above Earth.

The discard stage then was expected to be de-orbited into the Pacific, several hundred miles off Chile, to avoid space junk and a future uncontrolled re-entry.

But analysts and satellite observers agree that today’s launch marked the eighth time since 2001 than an Atlas rocket of some configuration has deployed satellites to refresh the Naval Ocean Surveillance System, or NOSS. It was ULA’s fifth NOSS launch.

“NOSS satellites locate and track ships at sea by detecting their radio transmissions and analyzing them using the TDOA (time-difference-of-arrival) technique,” said Ted Molczan, a respected monitor of spacecraft.

“Normally, under favorable circumstances, these satellites reach magnitude +5, observable with 7×50 binoculars. Occasionally, they brighten to magnitude +2 to +4, readily visible to the un-aided eye. Rarely, they rival the brightest stars.”

Atlas launches for NOSS over the last 15.5 years have come from both Vandenberg and Cape Canaveral in Florida. This was the sixth to originate on the West Coast, and NOSS was the original customer that sparked revitalization of the SLC-3E pad in the late 1990s.

The current era is distinguished by two satellites, launched by the same rocket, working in tandem. The pairs of satellites, weighing an estimated 14,000 pounds at launch, orbit in close proximity to each other as they circle the Earth.

Previous generations of NOSS missions featured three satellites working as triplets. There were 11 of those launches to reach orbit between 1976 and 1996.

The NRO is the secretive government agency responsible for the country’s fleet of spy satellites. Agency officials don’t publicly disclose the identities or uses of satellites carried aboard its launches.

The NRO was created in 1961 and operated in total secrecy as a black organization until its existence was declassified in 1992. It began acknowledging in advance the launches of its payloads in 1996.

Today, the agency operates imaging and eavesdropping spacecraft, naval surveillance birds and data-relay satellites for the constellations.

The satellites serve as the country’s eyes and ears, operating in various orbits, to collect data for civilian leadership and warfighters.

“These systems provide the foundation for global situational awareness, and address the nation’s toughest intelligence challenges. Frequently, NRO systems are the only collectors able to access critical areas of interest, and data from overhead sensors provides unique information and perspectives not available from other sources,” according the agency.

“The NRO’s key customers and mission partners include: policymakers, the armed services, the intelligence community, Departments of State, Justice and Treasury, and civil agencies. All of them depend on the unique capabilities NRO systems provide.”

NRO duties range from monitoring the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and tracking international terrorists to developing highly accurate military targeting data and bomb damage assessments.

“With its vigilance from above, the NRO gives America’s policymakers, intelligence analysts, warfighters and homeland security specialists the critical information they need to keep America safe, secure and free,” the NRO says.

The NRO has at least four more launches planned this year.

Today marked the 141st successful Atlas program launch in a row spanning more than two decades, the 70th for an Atlas 5 and the 117th in 123 months for United Launch Alliance.

In its 70 trips to space, the Atlas 5 has performed 26 flights dedicated to the Defense Department, 16 commercial missions, 14 for NASA and 14 for the National Reconnaissance Office.

This was the 46th time that the NRO had acknowledging one of its launches in advance since starting that practice in 1996, and the 24th to fly from Vandenberg.

** ATLAS 5 LAUNCHES FOR NRO **

AV-009: NROL-30 using Atlas 5-401 (June 15, 2007) Cape

AV-015: NROL-24 using Atlas 5-401 (Dec. 10, 2007) Cape

AV-006: NROL-28 using Atlas 5-411 (March 13, 2008) Vandenberg

AV-025: NROL-41 using Atlas 5-501 (Sept. 20, 2010) Vandenberg

AV-027: NROL-34 using Atlas 5-411 (April 14, 2011) Vandenberg

AV-023: NROL-38 using Atlas 5-401 (June 20, 2012) Cape

AV-033: NROL-36 using Atlas 5-401 (Sept. 13, 2012) Vandenberg

AV-042: NROL-39 using Atlas 5-501 (Dec. 5, 2013) Vandenberg

AV-045: NROL-67 using Atlas 5-541 (April 10, 2014) Cape

AV-046: NROL-33 using Atlas 5-401 (May 22, 2014) Cape

AV-051: NROL-35 using Atlas 5-541 (Dec. 13, 2014) Vandenberg

AV-058: NROL-55 using Atlas 5-401 (Oct. 8, 2015) Vandenberg

AV-065: NROL-61 using Atlas 5-421 (July 28, 2016) Cape

AV-068: NROL-79 using Atlas 5-401 (March 1, 2017) Vandenberg

NROL-79 was the first of back-to-back NRO missions by Atlas 5 from the West Coast. NROL-42 is planned for June using a powerful variant with four strap-on solid rocket boosters.

“We are already pressing on with L-42,” said Lt. Col. Eric Zarybnisky, 4th Space Launch Squadron commander and the Air Force launch director at Vandenberg. “We have received the booster and some other flight hardware. So we will launch L-79 and roll right into L-42. In fact, we are going to start working L-47, a Delta out here, shortly after that. So no rest for the weary here at Vandenberg for a little while.”

The next Atlas 5 will occur from Cape Canaveral on March 19 to send a commercial cargo ship to the International Space Station.

See earlier NROL-79 coverage.

Our Atlas archive.</s>Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) lifted off from Space Launch Complex-3 March 1 at 9:50 a.m. PST. Designated NROL-79, the mission is in support of national defense.

“I am so impressed by the incredible teamwork between the NRO, U.S. Air Force our industry partners and the ULA team that resulted in today’s successful launch. The integrated mission team overcame many challenges this flow including delays associated with the Vandenberg Canyon Fire last year,” said Laura Maginnis, vice president, Government Satellite Launch. “Tragically, Ventura County firefighter Ryan Osler lost his life en route to assist in fighting the fire. We are honored to dedicate today’s mission to Ryan and his family. Thank you to all of the men and women who worked to deliver this critical asset for our nation’s security.”

This mission was launched aboard an Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) 401 configuration vehicle, which includes a 4-meter-diameter extended payload fairing. The Atlas booster for this mission was powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine, and the Centaur upper stage was powered by the Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C-1 engine.

This is ULA’s second launch in 2017 and the 117th successful launch since the company was formed in December 2006.

ULA’s next launch is the Delta IV WGS-9 satellite for the U.S. Air Force. The launch is scheduled for March 8 from Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.</s>United Launch Alliance launched an Atlas V rocket Wednesday, successfully kicking things off at the planned launch time of 12:49 PM ET. The launch put a satellite into space – but the satellite’s specific details and mission are secret, since it’s a classified piece of hardware run by the National Reconnaissance Office.

You can re-watch the launch above. ULA declared mission success at around 4 minutes time, when the payload separated from the rocket without incident. The ULA’s launch today is its 70th with this rocket since it began using the Atlas V approximately 15 years ago.</s>A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket boosted a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload into orbit Wednesday after a picture-perfect morning launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base northwest of Los Angeles.

The Russian-built RD-180 engine at the base of the rocket thundered to life at 12:50 p.m. EST (GMT-5; 9:50 a.m. local time), throttled up to full thrust and majestically pushed the 191-foot-tall rocket away from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg.

Riding 860,200 pounds of thrust, the Atlas 5 arced away to the south over the Pacific Ocean and accelerated toward space, bound for an orbit around Earth’s poles where spy satellites and weather stations can “see” the entire planet as it rotates below.

Four minutes and three seconds after liftoff, the RD-180 shut down, the first stage fell away and the Aerojet-Rocketdyne RL10C-1 engine powering the Atlas 5’s second stage ignited, continuing the boost to space.

As usual with missions to launch classified military satellites, United Launch Alliance ended its launch commentary a few moments after second stage ignition “at the request of our customer.” The National Reconnaissance Office, which manages the nation’s top-secret national security payloads, provided no additional details.

Ted Molczan, a respected satellite tracker and analyst, believes the payload is a pair of Naval Ocean Surveillance System satellites used to track Russian and other military ships at sea. If correct, this is the eighth pair of NOSS satellites launched since 2001.

This was the 70th launch of an Atlas 5 since the booster’s debut in 2002, the second so far this year and the first of three planned for this month.

Next up for ULA is launch of a Delta 4 rocket carrying a military communications satellite from Cape Canaveral on March 8, followed by launch of an Orbital ATK Cygnus space station cargo ship on March 19, also from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.</s>Rocket: Atlas V 401; Payload: NROL-79; Date: 1 March 2017, 1750 UTC; Launch site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, USA. The payload was probably placed in a 1,120-km x 63 degrees orbit for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

Related Post:COM DEV International Ltd. results FY 201320th anniversary of GPS Initial Operational CapabilityFirst mission for SSTL’s new X50 platform will be for Kazakh customerAir Force Awards ATK $21 Million Contract6th Boeing GPS IIF completes on-orbit checkout milestoneYahsat announces plans to launch third satellite in 2016Northrop Grumman to develop Space Fence TechnologyATK to develop automated composite technologiesZemanta</s>"We are postured for another successful Atlas launch," US Air Force 30th Space Wing Commander Colonel Christopher Moss said in the release on Monday. "These missions are critical, and our team is excited to be a part of something that will have a global impact."

Details of the payload are classified but the NRO is the military agency responsible for US spy satellites.

The United States has used the Atlas two-stage rocket for more than four decades. The first stage of the latest model, the Atlas V, is powered by a Russian-made RD 180 engine.</s>VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) - A rocket carrying a classified U.S. satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office has been launched from California.

The Atlas 5 rocket lifted off at 9:49 a.m. Wednesday and roared away into a clear sky over Vandenberg Air Force Base.

All systems were going well when the launch webcast concluded about five minutes into the flight, as is customary during such missions.

An Atlas 5 rocket carrying the NROL-79 mission is launched at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on Wednesday, March 1, 2017. The rocket carrying a classified U.S. satellite dubbed NROL-79 is described only as a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. (Matt Hartman via AP)

The satellite dubbed NROL-79 is described only as a national security payload for the NRO.

The once-secret office operates an array of intelligence-gathering satellites.

The launch was conducted by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, and the Air Force's 30th Space Wing.

This photo provided by United Launch Alliance shows an Atlas V rocket carrying the NROL-79 mission at the Space Launch Complex-3, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on Wednesday, March 1, 2017. rocket carrying a classified U.S. satellite dubbed NROL-79 is described only as a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. (United Launch Alliance via AP)

This photo provided by United Launch Alliance shows an Atlas V rocket carrying the NROL-79 mission at the Space Launch Complex-3, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on Wednesday, March 1, 2017 in preparation for the launch. The rocket carrying a classified U.S. satellite dubbed NROL-79 is described only as a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. (United Launch Alliance via AP)</s>VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE (AP) — A rocket carrying a classified U.S. satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office has been launched from California.

The Atlas 5 rocket lifted off at 9:49 a.m. Wednesday and roared away into a clear sky over Vandenberg Air Force Base.

All systems were going well when the launch webcast concluded about five minutes into the flight, as is customary during such missions.

The satellite dubbed NROL-79 is described only as a national security payload for the NRO.

The once-secret office operates an array of intelligence-gathering satellites.

The launch was conducted by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, and the Air Force’s 30th Space Wing.

© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>PORTLAND (Sputnik) — The United States launched on Wednesday a confidential reconnaissance satellite on an Atlas V carrier rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in the state of California.

The United Launch Alliance launched the Atlas V 401 for the country's NROL-79 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office at 9:49 PT (17:49 GMT).

The National Reconnaissance Office develops space-based reconnaissance systems for US intelligence.

The NROL-79 mission could be a pair of Naval Ocean Surveillance Satellite spacecraft used by the US Navy, according to Spaceflight Insider.</s>United Launch Alliance's third mission of 2017 is sending a spy satellite to orbit for the U.S. government's National Reconnaissance Office. Liftoff is set for 11:50 AM CST from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

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An American Atlas V successfully launched an NRO payload from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The launch is the 70th successful Atlas V launch and the 14th successful mission for the NRO.