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Atlas IIAS
Launched 2001-09-08 15:25:05 UTCSpace Launch Complex 3E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Success
Reached Low Earth Orbit
Worldwide
40th
orbital launch attempt in 2001
Lockheed Martin
3rd
launch this year
Space Launch Complex 3E
1st
launch from this pad this year
Pad turnaround
629 d 20 h
since the pad's previous launch
NOSS-3 (Naval Ocean Surveillance System), which is likely not the official designation, is the third generation of NOSS satellites, which are low orbit SIGINT satellites. In 2013, the designation Intruder leaked out. These satellites carry equipment to track ships and aircraft via their radio transmissions. Positions of the origin of the transmissions are determined by triangulation. Each launch consists of two satellites of similar size in the same orbit. Both satellites maneuver to stationkeep relative to one another.
Lockheed Martin's Space Division started in the production of missiles and later ICBM's in the 1950s. Their TITAN missile system was used for 12 Gemini spacecraft and the Voyager probes. They have worked largely in collaboration with NASA on many of their probes, landers, and spacecraft, and hope to play a key role in NASA's return to the moon in 2024.
Launches
80
Successful
77
96%
Upcoming
0
scheduled
Height
47.5m
Diameter
3m
To low Earth orbit
6,580kg
Liftoff thrust
4,391kN
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