Posted: Tue, Dec 11, 2007, 7:50 AM ET (1250 GMT)
An Atlas 5 launched a classified spacecraft for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on Monday evening. The Atlas 5 401 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 5:05 pm EST (2205 GMT) carrying a spacecraft officially designated NROL-24, also named Scorpius. Few details about the mission were released, although United Launch Alliance (ULA), the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture that operates the Atlas 5, announced in a press release a couple hours after the launch that the launch has been a success. Analysts speculate that the payload may be a communications satellite that will operate in an elliptical, inclined Molniya orbit, relaying data from reconnaissance satellites to ground stations. The launch is the fourth for the Atlas 5 this year.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now article
•  Florida Today article
•  ULA press release