USA-193
Sign in to saveAlso known as NRO Launch 21, NROL-21, L-21
USA-193, also known as NRO Launch 21 (NROL-21 or simply L-21), was a United States military reconnaissance satellite (radar imaging) launched on 14 December 2006. It was the first launch conducted by the United Launch Alliance (ULA). Owned by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the craft's exact function and purpose were classified. On 21 February 2008, it was destroyed as a result of Operation Burnt Frost.
Key facts
- Spaceflight.name
- USA-193
- Spaceflight.names_list
- NROL-21NRO Launch 21L-21
- Spaceflight.image
- Delta II 7920 launch with NROL-21.jpg
- Spaceflight.image_caption
- Delta II launching USA-193, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, in December 2006
- Spaceflight.image_size
- 300px
- Spaceflight.mission_type
- Reconnaissance radar imaging
- Spaceflight.operator
- National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
- Spaceflight.COSPAR_ID
- 2006-057A
- Spaceflight.SATCAT
- 29651
- Spaceflight.mission_duration
- Communications with satellite not maintained after launch
- Spaceflight.manufacturer
- Initially Boeing, then Lockheed Martin
- Spaceflight.launch_date
- 14 December 2006, 21:00:00 UTC
- Spaceflight.launch_rocket
- Delta II 7920-10
- Spaceflight.launch_site
- Vandenberg, SLC-2W
- Spaceflight.launch_contractor
- United Launch Alliance
- Spaceflight.disposal_type
- Destroyed by heavily modified missile defence interceptor launched from
- Spaceflight.decay_date
- 21 February 2008
- Spaceflight.decay_field
- Destroyed
via Wikipedia infobox
~10 min read
Encyclopedic overview
12 sectionsContents
- Design
- Launch data
- Malfunction and orbital decay
- Hazardous materials on-board
- Destruction
- Controversy
- Space debris
- Catalogue IDs
- Gallery
- See also
- References
- External links
USA-193, also known as NRO Launch 21 (NROL-21 or simply L-21), was a United States military reconnaissance satellite (radar imaging) launched on 14 December 2006. It was the first launch conducted by the United Launch Alliance (ULA). Owned by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the craft's exact function and purpose were classified. On 21 February 2008, it was destroyed as a result of Operation Burnt Frost.
== Design == USA-193 was part of the NRO's Future Imagery Architecture (FIA), which was begun in 1997 to produce a fleet of inexpensive reconnaissance satellites, but has become the agency's most spectacular failure. USA-193 was initially developed by Boeing, which won the contract in 1999, beating out Lockheed Martin with proposals for innovative electro-optics and radar. But after cost overruns, delays, and parts failures, NRO sent the contract to Lockheed, which built USA-193 around the Boeing radar design. Lockheed Martin and Boeing both supported the launch, the first in the joint effort known as the United Launch Alliance. USA-193 weighed about , with a body thought to be long and wide, estimates based on the maximal Delta II payload. With the radar antenna extended, USA-193 was about the size of a basketball court (~30 × 15 m).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “USA-193” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.