ULA Atlas V NROL-107 (Silentbarker)

Atlas V successfully launches from AMSPACE LC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, Florida at 8:47 am Sunday, September 10 after two delays (one from inclement weather threads due to hurricane Idalia).

MISSION DETAILS:

• Type: Government/Top Secret

• Launch Cost: $153,000,000

• Classified space situational awareness (SSA) payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

• LAUNCH PROVIDER: United Launch Alliance (ULA)

• ROCKET TYPE: Atlas V 551

• LAUNCH PAD: Space Launch Complex 41

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket launches the SILENTBARKER/NROL-107 mission, a joint National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and U.S. Space Force (USSF) capability to improve space domain awareness. 

In plain terms, it will form a watchdog type of satellite formation to search for and monitor threats from other countries, able to track objects as small as a basketball, watching their position and movement. The payload this rocket carried was heavy enough to demand ULA's most powerful engine configuration, the Atlas V 551. It was a sight to behold from the Gantry, a mere 2.3 miles from the launch pad site.

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SilentBarker Video of Launch