Lockheed Martin Atlas IIA NROL-5 (Quasar 12)
Atlas IIA
Status
Success
Date
29 JAN 1998
18:37
Mission Overview
Satellite Data System (SDS) spacecraft are communication relay satellites for transmitting real-time data from US reconnaissance satellites (e.g. KH-11, Onyx, Topaz) in polar areas. They are also used for communications to USAF aircraft on polar routes and connect the various ground stations of the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN). The spacecraft relay the downlinked data to a ground station at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Rocket
Atlas IIA
Mission Type
Communications
Orbit
Elliptical Orbit
Stages
3
Livestream
Not availableRocket Details
Atlas II was a member of the Atlas family of launch vehicles, which evolved from the successful Atlas missile program of the 1950s. It was designed to launch payloads into low earth orbit, geosynchronous transfer orbit or geosynchronous orbit. Sixty-three launches of the Atlas II, IIA and IIAS models were carried out between 1991 and 2004; all sixty-three launches were successes, making the Atlas II the most reliable launch system in history.
Height
47.54 m
Diameter
3.04 m
Launch Mass
204 T
Thrust
2,479 kN