A United Launch Alliance Delta II-7920 carried a military tracking satellite into low earth orbit as a new technology weapon to defend America and her allies against an incoming ballistic missile.The Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) Advanced Technology Risk Reduction (ATRR) satellite departed Vandenberg, AFB in California with an on time launch this afternoon at 1:24 pm PDT (4:24 pm EDT) from Launch Complex 2-West.
The launch was blacked out via television due to the military secrecy of the flight. About fifty-nine minutes into the flight, the spacecraft seperated from the Delta II's second stage - giving ULA another successful flight.
The satellite will orbit the earth from pole to pole and inclined 196 degrees to the earth's 90 degree longitude line. STSS-ATRR will begin 24-hour daily operations as it looks for ICBM's from possible terror countries.
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