MISSION NAME
NROL-12 (Quasar 14) 12
Status
Success
DATE
11 OCT 2001
LAUNCH PROVIDER
Lockheed Martin
Launch Pad
Launch Complex 36B
Description
The primary purpose of the SDS satellites is to relay imagery from low-flying reconnaissance satellites, notably the Keyhole optical reconnaissance and Lacrosse/Onyx radar reconnaissance satellites to ground stations in the United States.
Atlas IIAS
Rocket Description
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.