NRO's Secret NROL-36 Payload Launches
An Atlas 5 rocket ascends toward space carrying the classified NROL-36 satellite and 11 small science cubesats on Sept. 13, 2012, in a flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Atlas 5 Rocket Lifts Off with NROL-36 Spy Satellite
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasts off from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at 2:39 p.m. PDT with the NROL-36 national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Liftoff! Atlas 5 Launches with NROL-36 Satellite
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasts off from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at 2:39 p.m. PDT with the NROL-36 national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Atlas 5 Rocket Launches NROL-36
The classified NROL-36 satellite launches into orbit on a mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office on Sept. 13, 2012, after a weeks of delay. The satellite launched atop a Atlas 5 rocket in a flight staged from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Atlas 5 Rocket Launches NROL-36
An Atlas 5 rocket ascends toward space carrying the classified NROL-36 satellite and 11 small science cubesats on Sept. 13, 2012, in a flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Rollback of Atlas V NROL-36, VAFB
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V stands ready for launch at Space Launch Complex-3 with a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Rollback of Atlas V NROL-36, VAFB
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V stands ready for launch at Space Launch Complex-3 with a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Payload Section of Atlas V NROL-36
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V stands ready for launch at Space Launch Complex-3 with a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.
NROL-36 Spy Satellite Mated to Rocket
The National Reconnaissance Office's classified NROL-36 satellite payload, encapsulated in a 4-meter nose cone, is attached to its Atlas 5 rocket in preparation for an Aug. 2 launch from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
NROL-36 Spy Satellite Mission Poster
The mission posted for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office NROL-36 mission on Aug. 2, 2012.
Vandenberg’s 5th Atlas V Lifts Off
Team Vandenberg launched a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying a National Reconnaissance Office payload from Space Launch Complex-3 here Sept. 13, 2012. It was the fifth Atlas V processed at Vandenberg and the 606th Atlas mission in U.S. history.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
