LAUNCH CENTER

Launch Image
Success
Sat May 22 1999
United States Air Force

NROL-9 (Misty 2)

Launch Successful
LAUNCH PREVIEW

Launch Time

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(9:36 AM UTC)

Launch Window Start

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(9:36 AM UTC)

Launch Window End

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(9:36 AM UTC)

RECOVERY OVERVIEW

Location

No Recovery Specified

Type

No Recovery Specified

Rocket Details

Name:

Titan 404B

Description:

Titan IV was a family of heavy-lift space launch vehicles developed by Martin Marietta and operated by the United States Air Force from 1989 to 2005.

Titan 404B rocket
MISSION OVERVIEW
  • Type: Government/Top Secret
  • This satellite is suspected to be a stealthy electro-optical reconnaissance satellite. The program name for developing an stealth IMINT capability is reportedly "Misty". Hobbyist satellite observers continue to track an object from that launch in a 2700 km × 3100 km, 63.4° orbit, but detailed orbital analysis reveals significant solar radiation pressure perturbations, from an area to mass ratio of about 0.1 m2/kg, 10 to 20 times that of a payload, and more akin to debris or a decoy, can be deduced. It appears to be no more than 5 to 10 m across, and only a few hundred kilograms in mass. If USA 144 is Misty-2, then it is likely to be in a 700 to 800 km, quasi 65° orbit. These orbits are low-drag, so orbit maintenance manoeuvres are not required.
COMPLEX OVERVIEW

Location

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Pad

Space Launch Complex 4E