The US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is the agency that spies in the country, and naturally it has to be very secretive in their affairs. As a testament to this fact, they recently launched a secret spy satellite into orbit and invited everyone to see (Irony). But it is not what you think it is. The rocket taking it in the air was the most powerful one ever made. So, whatever they sent in the orbit in NROL-37, was definitely heavy! The launch took place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida at 1351 hours last Saturday. Here is the launch sequence from the launchpad:
Now many people don’t know this but the maintenance and operation of the entire spy satellite fleet of the USA is the responsibility of the NRO, not the National Security Agency (NSA) that keeps everybody awake at night. The contents of this satellite are classified as usual, and no we won’t have anything on them except that they are bulky. Contact NRO for any further explanations!
The Delta IV rocket used in this is one of the most powerful ones ever built. It is 232 feet tall and has three rocket cores joined together instead of one and creates 2 million lbs of thrust.
It’s a pity that SpaceX couldn’t make them due to secrecy concerns, but it would have made the upper atmosphere odyssey much cheaper, no? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section