Back to Launches
Success
Government/Top Secret
Titan 401A Centaur | NROL-4
Titan 401A Centaur
Nov 8, 1997, 2:05 AM UTC
Nov 8, 1997, 2:05 AM UTC
Mission Elapsed Time
T-00:00:00
Mission Details
Trumpet signal intelligence satellites were launched by Titan-4(01)A Centaur-T into highly elliptic Molniya-type orbits. In their elliptical orbits they would move very slowly over the northern hemisphere for most of their orbital period, allowing interception of microwave line-of-sight communications beams. Since they would move slowly through the beams during their orbit, a constellation of such satellites was required to monitor Soviet communications throughout the day.
- Type
- Government/Top Secret
- Orbit
- Geostationary Orbit (Direct-GEO)
Launch Site
- Pad
- Space Launch Complex 41
- Location
- Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
- Country
- 🇺🇸 USA
Weather at Launch
- Temp
- 18.1°C
- Wind
- 24 km/h @ 283°
- Sky
- Mainly clear
- Source
- open-meteo-archive