The World's Most Transparent Government Ever Launches Mystery Satellite Into Orbit

9/18/2014

An Atlas V rocket lifts off with the mysterious CLIO satellite. (Credit: ULA)

Tuesday night at 8:10 EDT, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocketlifted off from Kennedy Space Complex after a short weather delay. This marks the 11th successful launch for ULA this year.

The rocket was carrying a satellite known only as CLIO, which it delivered into an unidentified (though probably geosynchronous) orbit. This satellite was built by Lockheed Martin and based on that company’s A2100 Satellite bus. This framework is typically used for telecommunications satellites, and according to Lockheed, over 40 satellites with the A2100 bus are currently in orbit.

The level of secrecy for this satellite is somewhat unusual, especially since the which U.S. government agency is the customer for this satellite hasn’t been identified at all. For example, even satellites intended for use to gather intelligence data are typically identified as being launched on behalf of the National Reconnaissance Office.

In a press release, Lockheed’s executive VP, Rick Ambrose, merely commented as follows: “We are very proud to deliver mission success for our U.S. Government customer. Our A2100 bus provides outstanding reliability, flexibility and proven performance, all at an affordable cost to our customers.”

The next launch for ULA is scheduled for October 29, 2014, when an Atlas V rocket will deliver next generation GPS satellites into orbit on behalf of the Air Force. The next launch scheduled for September is a SpaceX launch on September 20, where it will deliver a Dragon capsule loaded with cargo to the International Space Station.

You can watch a video with highlights from the launch below:

To see what else has launched and what’s planned to launch this month, please see our September launch schedule.

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