Here's everything we know about the secretive spy satellite launching tonight
By Rafi Letzter - Staff Writer
There are clues about what this satellite will do.
Update: The launch of the U.S. spy satellite was aborted just 7 seconds before liftoff.
The U.S. government is putting something big and secret in orbit tonight (Sept 30).
Such classified launches aren't all that rare. The military and various intelligence agencies routinely put satellites and other cargo into space without telling anyone what they're for. But any orbital mystery is interesting, and there are a few details we can glean from what's been made known about tonight's scheduled launch, a mission designated NROL-44.
The satellite's main job is probably 'signal intelligence'
NROL-44's cargo belongs to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the intelligence branch that maintains the nation's spy satellites. NRO satellites perform all sorts of functions, like snapping high-resolution photographs, studying ground sites with radar and watching for missile launches.
https://www.livescience.com/secret-sattelite-details.html
