Classified NRO satellite to be launched from Vandenberg

A top-secret satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office will be launched into orbit Thursday. The launch was originally set for Monday but was delayed by technical problems. The satellite will be carried by a Titan 4B rocket scheduled for launch at 2:19 p.m. PDT. Government officials refuse to disclose the nature of the orbiting spacecraft. "We keep that to ourselves," NRO spokesman Rick Oborn said.

Outside experts said the satellite likely carries a digital camera equipped with keen-eyed telescope vision that allows it to pick out objects as small as 4 inches across on the ground.

"Conventional wisdom at this point is that it's an advanced KeyHole electro-optical imaging intelligence satellite," said John Pike, director of globalsecurity.org, an Alexandria, Va. think-tank.

Launch of the Lockheed Martin-made rocket - the nation's most powerful unmanned booster - was delayed twice because of technical glitches with its guidance and data-relay systems. The launch will the 33rd of a Titan 4, a mammoth rocket that weighs more than 2 million pounds. Four Titan 4 launches have failed, including a string of three in 1998 and 1999.

The NRO, staffed by members of the Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency, builds and operates the nation's spy satellites. Prior to 1996, it did not publicly disclose the launches of its satellites.

Copyright 2001 Associated Press