Mission type | Radar imaging |
---|---|
Operator | US NRO |
COSPAR ID | 2013-072A |
SATCAT no. | 39462 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | Topaz |
Manufacturer | Boeing |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 6 December 2013, 07:14:30 | UTC
Rocket | Atlas V 501 AV-042 |
Launch site | Vandenberg SLC-3E |
Contractor | ULA |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth (retrograde) |
Perigee altitude | 1,108 kilometers (688 mi)[1] |
Apogee altitude | 1,113 kilometers (692 mi)[1] |
Inclination | 123.01 degrees[1] |
Period | 107.35 minutes[1] |
Epoch | 22 January 2015, 18:27:48 UTC[1] |
USA-247, also known as NRO Launch 39 or NROL-39, is an American reconnaissance satellite, operated by the National Reconnaissance Office and launched in December 2013. The USA-247 launch received a relatively high level of press coverage due to the mission's choice of logo, which depicts an octopus sitting astride the globe with the motto "Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach".[2] The logo was extensively criticized in light of the surveillance disclosures in July 2013.[3]