Re: Spy satellite unscheduled de-orbit



Brian Thorn wrote:
It's probably the NRO satellite launched on a Delta II in 2006 that
promptly died (amateur observers noted that no solar panels were
visible.) At 20,000 lbs., it's not a giant like a KH-11.

That's a pretty good guess: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/us/27spy.html?ref=us
"Specialists who follow spy satellite operations suspect it is an experimental imagery satellite built by Lockheed Martin and launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in December 2006 aboard a Delta II rocket. Shortly after the satellite reached orbit, ground controllers lost the ability to control it and were never able to regain communication."
Was it stuck in LEO after failing to do its transfer orbit burn to its final intended orbit?

Pat
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