This morning, an Atlas V rocket will blast off into space from Cape Canaveral, taking a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office into orbit.
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A new American reconnaissance satellite has made it to orbit to begin the latest secret mission for the USA government.
NROL-61 will be operated by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the agency in charge of the United States’ fleet of spy satellites.
The NRO satellites are highly classified.
According to the translation aired by the ULA, the rocket was launched at 8:37 local time (12:37 GMT). The United Launch Alliance launched the mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The character is featured on the mission patch for the launch and is painted on the side of the rocket.
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Despite the secretive nature of the launch, the NRO still had plenty of fun promoting it with a cartoon-like gecko mascot named Spike. The launch broadcast was blacked out minutes into the flight to preserve the secrecy. Not much is known about the satellite itself nor where in orbit it is heading. “2207520000.1469703963./1834174233480629/?type=3&theater”>in which he’s riding on top of the Atlas V rocket as it zooms away from Earth.
