Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking. Login or Take a Tour!
Totally remember. The video is NROL-25, a Delta IV Heavy carrying an FIA-R synthetic aperture radar satellite. The photo is NROL-49, the first Delta IV Heavy launched from SLC-6 (which was created for military shuttle launches, and then the Challenger happened). NROL-49 is a Block IV KH-11: (the latin is "the devil you know") It was put up generally to provide IMINT of the middle east, specifically to provide IMINT of bin Laden's Abbotabad compound. Sen. Robert Byrd griped about the cost, pointing out that the price of a Block IV KH-11 and launch is roughly equivalent to a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. Here's a better shot from Oil Platform Irene (I took the other two; did not take this one) Now remind me why you have me muted.
