USA-215 - Misplaced Pages

American radar reconnaissance satellite

USA-215
Spacecraft properties

Names	NRO Launch 41 NROL-41 Gladys

Mission type	Imaging radar
Operator	National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
COSPAR ID	2010-046A
SATCAT no.	37162


Spacecraft type	FIA Radar
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin


Start of mission
Launch date	21 September 2010, 04:03:30 UTC
Rocket	Atlas V 501 s/n AV-025
Launch site	Vandenberg, SLC-3E
Contractor	United Launch Alliance (ULA)


Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit (retrograde)
Perigee altitude	1,103 km (685 mi)
Apogee altitude	1,105 km (687 mi)
Inclination	122.99°
Period	107.35 minutes

USA-215, also known as NRO Launch 41 or NROL-41, is an American reconnaissance satellite, operated by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Launched in 2010, it has been identified as the first in a new series of imaging radar satellites, developed as part of the Future Imagery Architecture (FIA) programme, to replace the earlier Lacrosse spacecraft.

Launch

USA-215 was launched by an Atlas V launch vehicle, flying in the 501 configuration, operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA). The rocket was launched from Space Launch Complex 3E at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, at 04:03:30 UTC on 21 September 2010. It was identified as NRO Launch 41, and was the twenty-third flight of an Atlas V; the vehicle had the tail number AV-025, and was named Gladys.

Mission

The satellite's orbit and mission are officially classified; however, it has been located by amateur observers in a retrograde low Earth orbit. As of 14 February 2021, it was in an orbit with a perigee of 1,103 km (685 mi), an apogee of 1,105 km (687 mi) and 122.99° of orbital inclination.

References

^ "USA 215 - Orbit". Heavens Above. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
Krebs, Gunter (11 December 2020). "Topaz 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (FIA-Radar 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
Ray, Justin (21 September 2010). "Atlas Launch Report - Mission Status Center". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
Krebs, Gunter (21 December 2020). "NROL launches". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 10 March 2021.

v t e ← 2009 Orbital launches in 2010 2011 →
January	Compass-G1 Globus-1M No.12L
February	Progress M-04M STS-130 (Tranquility, Cupola) SDO Intelsat 16
March	Kosmos 2459 / GLONASS-M 731, Kosmos 2460 / GLONASS-M 732, Kosmos 2461 / GLONASS-M 735 GOES-15 / EWS-G2 Yaogan 9A, Yaogan 9B, Yaogan 9C EchoStar XIV
April	Soyuz TMA-18 STS-131 (Leonardo MPLM) CryoSat-2 GSAT-4 Kosmos 2462 USA-212 SES-1 Kosmos 2463 Progress M-05M
May	STS-132 (Rassvet, ICC-VLD) Akatsuki, IKAROS (DCAM-1, DCAM-2), Shin'en, Waseda-SAT2, Hayato, Negai ☆'' Astra 3B, COMSATBw-2 USA-213
June	SERVIS-2 Compass-G3 Badr-5 Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit STSAT-2B Shijian XII Prisma, Picard, BPA-1 Soyuz TMA-19 TanDEM-X Ofek-9 Arabsat-5A, Chollian Progress M-06M
July	EchoStar XV Cartosat-2B, AlSat-2A, StudSat, AISSat-1, TIsat-1 Compass-IGSO1
August	Nilesat 201, RASCOM-QAF 1R Yaogan 10 USA-214 Tian Hui 1
September	Kosmos 2464, Kosmos 2465, Kosmos 2466 Chinasat-6A Gonets-M No.2, Kosmos 2467, Kosmos 2468 Progress M-07M Michibiki USA-215 Yaogan 11, Zheda Pixing 1B, Zheda Pixing 1C USA-216 Kosmos 2469
October	Chang'e 2 Shijian 6G, Shijian 6H Soyuz TMA-01M XM-5 Globalstar 73, Globalstar 74, Globalstar 75, Globalstar 76, Globalstar 77, Globalstar 79 Progress M-08M Eutelsat W3B, BSat 3B Compass-G4
November	Meridian 3 Fengyun 3B COSMO-4 SkyTerra-1 STPSat-2, USA-220 / FASTSAT (NanoSail-D2), USA-221 / FalconSat-5, USA-222 / FASTRAC-1, USA-222 / FASTRAC-2, USA-218 / RAX, USA-219 / O/OREOS USA-223 / Orion 7 Chinasat 20A Intelsat 17, HYLAS-1
December	Glonass-M No.39, Glonass-M No.40, Glonass-M No.41 SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 1, Mayflower, SMDC-ONE 1, QbX-1, QbX-2, Perseus 000, Perseus 001, Perseus 002, Perseus 003 Soyuz TMA-20 Compass-IGSO2 GSAT-5P KA-SAT
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).

v t e National Reconnaissance Office satellite launches
L-1 L-2 L-3 L-4 L-5 L-6 L-7 L-8 L-9 L-10 L-11 L-12 L-13 L-14 L-15 L-16 L-17 L-18 L-19 L-20 L-21 L-22 L-23 L-24 L-25 L-26 L-27 L-28 L-29 L-30 L-31 L-32 L-33 L-34 L-35 L-36 L-37 L-38 L-39 L-40 L-41 L-42 ... L-45 L-47 L-49 L-55 L-61 L-65 L-66 L-67 L-79

v t e Topaz satellites
USA-215 USA-234 USA-247 NROL-45

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