Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS NROL-18 (Intruder 6A & 6B)
Atlas IIAS
Status
Success
Date
2 DEC 2003
10:04
Mission Overview
USA 173 is an American military satellite (operated by the National Reconnaissance Office)
Rocket
Atlas IIAS
Mission Type
Government/Top Secret
Orbit
Low Earth 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
4,391 kN