Titan 404B | NROL-9
Launch Successful
L - -- : -- : -- : --
Instantaneous launch window.
Launch Window
May 22, 1999, 9:36 a.m. - May 22, 1999, 9:36 a.m.
Instantaneous launch window.
May 22, 1999, 9:36 a.m. - May 22, 1999, 9:36 a.m.
This satellite is suspected to be a stealthy electro-optical reconnaissance satellite. The program name for developing an stealth IMINT capability is reportedly "Misty". Hobbyist satellite observers continue to track an object from that launch in a 2700 km × 3100 km, 63.4° orbit, but detailed orbital analysis reveals significant solar radiation pressure perturbations, from an area to mass ratio of about 0.1 m2/kg, 10 to 20 times that of a payload, and more akin to debris or a decoy, can be deduced. It appears to be no more than 5 to 10 m across, and only a few hundred kilograms in mass. If USA 144 is Misty-2, then it is likely to be in a 700 to 800 km, quasi 65° orbit. These orbits are low-drag, so orbit maintenance manoeuvres are not required.
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.
INFO WIKIA batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.
Sixth test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle.
GSAT-20 is an Indian geostationary Ka-band high-throughput communications satellite. GSAT 20 is reportedly built on the I-6K unified modular bus a…
A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
An unannounced geostationary communication satellite built by Northrop Grumman, alleged for the Australian telecommunications operator Optus. Details…
Seventh cargo delivery mission to the Chinese space station.
A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Next generation Chinese ocean salinity measurements satellite to study ocean climatic changes and its effects on ecology and biological cycles.