South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
SpaceX launches ‘gorilla’ spy satellite
SpaceX launched a satelliteSaturdayfortheNational Reconnaissance Office, a highly secretive agency within the Defense Department.
After two days of delays for technical issues, liftoff came at 9 a.m. from launchpad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on a crisp, 53-degree morning with mostly blue skies.
About eight minutes into themission, SpaceXsuccessfully landed the Falcon 9’s first stage on a pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, adeparturefromthe usual recoveries on a drone ship at sea. It was the 26th and final SpaceX launch of 2020.
A launch attempt on Thursday was scrubbed after the countdown halted automatically when sensors showed a buildup of pressureintheupperstageliquid oxygen tanks. The company initially said it would try again Friday but moved the liftoff again.
No details about the satellite have been released, but the government did offer a clue about its purpose. The mission patch on the rocket features an angry gorilla beating his chest, with the motto “Peace Through Strength.”
“Gorillas are peaceful animals but can be fierce when necessary,” the NRO explained via Twitter. “Like the gorilla, our NROL-108 mission is constantly vigilant and ready to defend its own, demonstrating NRO’s commitment to protecting U.S. warfighters, interests, and allies.”
SpaceX became a
customer for the NRO after it and United Launch Alliance were awarded multimillion-dollar contracts in August — $337 million for ULA and $316 million for SpaceX— to share the duty of launching the military’s highest-priority national security missions.
ULA, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, will handle
60% ofthelaunchesthrough
2027 and SpaceX the other
40%.