Satellite Launched Into Space for Classified Mission
The United Launch Alliance successfully launched a spy satellite into space on Thursday, July 27, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard an Atlas V rocket. The mission of the US National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) NROL-61 satellite is classified.
The NRO chose a cartoon lizard, named Spike, as the mascot for the NROL-61 launch, using an image of the reptile launching into space on a rocket.
Amateur satellite trackers who closely follow NRO missions believe that the NROL-61 is the first generation of the new Quasar communication satellites. Credit: United Launch Alliance
