Titan 401A Centaur | NROL-4
Launch Successful
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Instantaneous launch window.
Launch Window
Nov. 8, 1997, 2:05 a.m. - Nov. 8, 1997, 2:05 a.m.
Instantaneous launch window.
Nov. 8, 1997, 2:05 a.m. - Nov. 8, 1997, 2:05 a.m.
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.
Titan IV was a family of heavy-lift space launch vehicles developed by Martin Marietta and operated by the United States Air Force from 1989 to 2005.
Lockheed Martin's Space Division started in the production of missiles and later ICBM's in the 1950s. Their TITAN missile system was used for 12 Gemini spacecraft and the Voyager probes. They have worked largely in collaboration with NASA on many of their probes, landers, and spacecraft, and hope to play a key role in NASA's return to the moon in 2024.
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