NRO satellite successfully launched aboard Atlas V

A National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) payload was successfully launched aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral, Florida, on December 10, 2007 at 5:05 p.m. EST. This is the second Atlas V launch of an NRO payload.

“Today’s launch culminates many years of hard work and is a tribute to our dedicated government and industry team,” said Col James Norman, Mission Director.

The NRO is a joint organization engaged in the research and development, acquisition, launch and operation of overhead reconnaissance systems necessary to meet the needs of the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense. This launch directly supports NRO’s goals of being the foundation for global situational awareness and for providing intelligence information on timelines responsive to user needs.