USA-193#Destruction

USA-193 was part of the NRO's Future Imagery Architecture (FIA), which was begun in 1997 to produce a fleet of inexpensive reconnaissance satellites, but has become the agency's most spectacular failure.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/washington/11satellite.html|title=In Death of Spy Satellite Program, Lofty Plans and Unrealistic Bids|last=Taubman|first=Philip|date=11 November 2007|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=20 February 2008}} USA-193 was initially developed by Boeing, which won the contract in 1999, beating out Lockheed Martin with proposals for innovative electro-optics and radar. But after cost overruns, delays, and parts failures, NRO sent the contract to Lockheed, which built USA-193 around the Boeing radar design. Lockheed Martin and Boeing both supported the launch, the first in the joint effort known as the United Launch Alliance.{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/e-305.htm|title=E-305 New Radar Capability|website=globalsecurity.org|access-date=20 February 2008}} USA-193 weighed about {{cvt|2300|kg}},{{npsn|date=December 2024}} with a body thought to be {{cvt|4.6|m}} long and {{cvt|2.4|m}} wide, estimates based on the maximal Delta II payload. With the radar antenna extended, USA-193 was about the size of a basketball court (~30 × 15 m).{{cite magazine |url=http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/aw020408p2.xml&headline=Falling%20Radar%20Satellite%20Adds%20to%20NRO%20Troubles|title=Falling Radar Satellite Adds to NRO Troubles|last=Covault|first=Craig|date=6 February 2008|magazine=Aviation Week|access-date=23 February 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521055527/http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/aw020408p2.xml&headline=Falling%20Radar%20Satellite%20Adds%20to%20NRO%20Troubles|archive-date=21 May 2011}}

• Launch: 14 December 2006 at 21:00:00 UTC
• Launch vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II-7920 launch vehicle {{cite web|url=http://www.planet4589.org/space/jsr/back/news.575|title=Table of Launches (NROL-21)|date=26 December 2006|publisher=Jonathan's Space Report|number=575|access-date=18 February 2011|archive-date=11 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211182306/http://www.planet4589.org/space/jsr/back/news.575|url-status=dead}}
• Launch site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, United States
• Launch facility: Space Launch Complex 2W{{cite web|url=http://www.afspc.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123035657|title=Vandenberg successfully launches Delta II |first=Erica|last=Stewart|agency=30th Space Wing Public Affairs|date=18 December 2006|publisher=Air Force Space Command|access-date=22 February 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302102405/http://www.afspc.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123035657|archive-date=2 March 2008}} {{PD-notice}}
• Orbit data: not officially available, as spy satellites often change position and do not have regular orbits.{{cite web |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/displayTrajectory.action?id=2006-057A|title=Display: United States 193 Trajectory Details|work=National Space Science Data Center|publisher=NASA|access-date=22 February 2008}} {{PD-notice}} Reported by amateur observers to be (perigee, apogee, inclination):
• 349 km × 365 km × 58.48° after launch,{{cite web|url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0802/14nrol21/|title=U.S. plans to fire missile at falling spy satellite|first=William |last=Harwood|date=14 February 2008|publisher=Spaceflight Now|access-date=17 February 2019}}
• 255 km × 268 km × 58.48° on 11 February 2008,{{cite web|url=http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Feb-2008/0194.html|title=TJM obs of 2008 February 11 UTC; United States 193 elements|first=Ted |last=Molczan|date=11 February 2008|website=SatObs.org|access-date=17 February 2019}}
• 244 km × 261 km × 58.50° on 19 February 2008.{{cite web|url=http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Feb-2008/0385.html|title=Updated elements of United States 193|first=Ted|last=Molczan|date=19 February 2008|website=SatObs.org|access-date=17 February 2019}}
• The orbit was decaying at an increasing rate.

File:USA193patch.jpg

The satellite entered orbit, but lost contact with the ground within hours.{{cite web|url=https://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4145|title=DoD News Briefing |first1=James|last1=Jeffrey|first2=James|last2=Cartwright|first3=Michael D.|last3=Griffin|date=14 February 2008|publisher=U.S. Department of Defense|access-date=17 February 2019}} {{PD-notice}}{{npsn|date=December 2024}} In late January 2008, reports from anonymous U.S. officials indicated a U.S. spy satellite, later confirmed as USA-193, was in a deteriorating orbit and was expected to crash into Earth within weeks.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7211443.stm|title=Satellite could plummet to Earth|date=27 January 2008|publisher=BBC News|access-date=18 February 2011}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/us/27spy.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=login|title=U.S. Spy Satellite, Power Gone, May Hit Earth|date=27 January 2008|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=18 February 2011}} This came as no surprise to amateur satellite watchers, who had been predicting the deorbit of the satellite for some time.{{cite web|url=http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Jan-2007/0282.html|title=USA 193 elements from observations|first=Ted|last=Molczan|date=27 January 2007|website=SatObs.org|access-date=17 February 2019}}

The satellite malfunctioned shortly after deployment and was intentionally destroyed 14 months later on 21 February 2008 by a modified SM-3 missile fired from the U.S. Navy warship USS Lake Erie (CG-70), stationed west of Hawaii.{{cite web|url=http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2274693,00.html|title=U.S. shoots down rogue satellite|date=21 February 2008|publisher=News24|access-date=22 February 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222154922/http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2274693,00.html|archive-date=22 February 2008}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/us/21satellite.html|title=Missile Strikes a Spy Satellite Falling From Its Orbit |last=Shanker|first=Thom|date=21 February 2008|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=18 February 2011}} The event highlighted growing distrust between the U.S. and China, and was viewed by some to be part of a wider "arms race" in space involving the U.S., China, and Russia.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/2008/02/21/china-aerospace-satellites-biz-beltway-cx_bw_0221china.html|title=A New Space Race?|last=Wingfield|first=Brian|date=21 February 2008|magazine=Forbes|access-date=18 February 2011}} It was the first launch by United Launch Alliance since it was formed in December 2006, and the first Delta II launch since ULA acquisition.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reports indicate that the satellite contained the hazardous materials hydrazine and beryllium.{{cite web|url=http://www.fsrn.us/PDF-2008/FEMA%20Satalite%20Memo.pdf|title=Memorandum To America's First Responder Community|author=FEMA|date=2008|publisher=Fire Service Resources Network|access-date=17 February 2019|archive-date=18 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218081824/http://www.fsrn.us/PDF-2008/FEMA%20Satalite%20Memo.pdf|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}} Though there was some speculation that the satellite might have a "nuclear" power core,{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jan/27/spaceexploration.usa|title=U.S. warns out-of-control spy satellite is plunging to Earth|first=Paul|last=Harris|date=27 January 2008|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=22 February 2008}} i.e. a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), the FEMA report indicates otherwise. On 29 January 2008, an Associated Press story quoted U.S. Air Force General Gene Renuart as saying that contingency plans were being made, since intact pieces of the satellite "might re-enter into the North American area".{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/22904031/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/large-spy-satellite-could-hit-north-america/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015074700/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/22904031/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/large-spy-satellite-could-hit-north-america/|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 October 2013|title=Large spy satellite could hit North America|last=Baldor|first=Lolita C.|agency=Associated Press|date=29 January 2008|publisher=NBC News|access-date=17 February 2019}} In respecting the Space Liability Convention, the United States vowed to pay for any damage or destruction caused by their failed satellite.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-satellite-damage-idUSL1587228120080215|title=U.S. vows to pay for damage caused by satellite|first=Stephanie|last=Nebehay|date=15 February 2008|work=Reuters|access-date=22 February 2008}}

{{Main|Operation Burnt Frost}}

File:US Navy 030303-N-3235P-503 A topside view of the forward MK-41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) aboard the guided missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56).jpg on a Ticonderoga-class cruiser]]

Planning for the destruction of USA-193 with a missile reportedly began on 4 January 2008, with President Bush approving the plan on 12 February 2008,{{cite web |url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-LGWDsbeGibIxXzslvQKZrVIW2gD8UR1JKG0|title=Satellite Shootdown Plan Began in January 2008|first=Robert|last=Burns|date=15 February 2008|agency=Associated Press|access-date=22 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302042653/http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-LGWDsbeGibIxXzslvQKZrVIW2gD8UR1JKG0|archive-date=2 March 2008}} at an expected cost of US$40 million to US$60 million.{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/02/15/spy.satellite/index.html|title=Attempt to shoot down spy satellite to cost up to US$60 million|first1=Jamie |last1=McIntyre|first2=Mike|last2=Mount|date=15 February 2008|publisher=CNN|access-date=5 February 2011}} The task force had as its goal to "rupture the fuel tank to dissipate the approximately {{cvt|453|kg}} of hydrazine, a hazardous fuel, which could pose a danger to people on Earth, before it entered into Earth's atmosphere".

File:SM-3 launch to destroy the NRO-L 21 satellite.jpg

On 14 February 2008, U.S. officials announced the plan to destroy USA-193 before atmospheric reentry, stating that the intention was "saving or reducing injury to human life". They said that if the hydrazine tank fell to Earth, it "could spread a toxic cloud roughly the size of two football fields".{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/02/14/spy.satellite/index.html|title=U.S. to try to shoot down errant satellite|first=Mike|last=Mount|date=15 February 2008|publisher=CNN|access-date=17 February 2019}} General James Cartwright confirmed that the United States Navy was preparing to launch an SM-3 missile to destroy the satellite, at an altitude of {{cvt|247|km}}, shortly before it entered Earth's atmosphere.{{npsn|date=December 2024}}

On 21 February 2008, at 03:26 UTC an SM-3 missile was fired from the Ticonderoga-class missile cruiser {{USS|Lake Erie|CG-70}} and intercepted USA-193 about {{cvt|247|km}} above the Pacific Ocean. The satellite was traveling with a velocity of {{cvt|28000|km/h}}, or {{cvt|7.8|km/s}}. The velocity of the impact was about {{cvt|35000|km/h}}. The United States Department of Defense (DoD) expressed a "high degree of confidence" that the fuel tank was hit and destroyed.{{cite web |url=http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20080220/update_satellite_080221/|title=Response team formed to recover satellite debris|date=21 February 2008|publisher=CTV Television Network|access-date=21 February 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629043037/http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20080220/update_satellite_080221/|archive-date=29 June 2011}} The satellite's remnants were expected to burn up over the course of the next 40 days, with most of the satellite's mass re-entering the atmosphere within 48 hours of the missile strike.{{cite press release |url=https://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=11704|title=DoD Succeeds In Intercepting Non-Functioning Satellite|date=20 February 2008|publisher=U.S. Department of Defense|access-date=20 February 2008}} {{PD-notice}}{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/02/20/satellite.shootdown/index.html|title=Navy missile hits dying spy satellite, says Pentagon|date=21 February 2008 |publisher=CNN|access-date=17 February 2019}}

U.S. officials denied that the action was intended to prevent sensitive technology falling into foreign hands and also denied that it was a response to the 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-satellite-missile-idUSN1447206620080214|title=Pentagon plans to shoot down disabled satellite |first=Kristin|last=Roberts|date=14 February 2008|work=Reuters|access-date=17 February 2019}} This was not the first time the United States shot down one of its own satellites; the Air Force had shot down a satellite in 1985.{{cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11000|title=Anti-satellite weapon used simple technology|first=David|last=Shiga|date=20 January 2007|publisher=New Scientist|access-date=22 February 2008}} Although the U.S. had objected to the earlier Chinese test of an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon, U.S. officials said there was "no parallel" with that test. The Chinese test destroyed a target in a high, stable orbit, leaving a large amount of space debris in orbit, while the destruction of USA-193 in a much lower orbit would create debris that would likely deorbit within weeks.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7248995.stm|title=U.S. spy satellite plan "a cover"|date=17 February 2008|publisher=BBC News|access-date=17 February 2019}}{{npsn|date=December 2024}}

File:SM-3 intercepting NROL-21-20080220.jpg

The Russian government claimed that this exercise was a test of the U.S. missile defense program. The defense ministry of Russia accused the U.S. of using hydrazine as a cover for the test of an ASAT. It also noted that extraordinary measures had never before been needed to deal with the many spacecraft that had fallen to Earth. Indeed, The New York Times had paraphrased Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the United States National Security Council, as stating that 328 objects had deorbited (controlled and uncontrolled) in the previous five-year period.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/science/space/05spotters.html|title=Satellite Spotters Glimpse Secrets, and Tell Them|last=Schwartz|first=John|date=5 February 2008 |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=17 February 2019}}

However, U.S. officials maintained that the large quantity of hydrazine on board made USA-193 a special case. According to General Kevin P. Chilton, when President Bush was briefed on the situation, the danger that shooting down the satellite would be perceived as an ASAT test was brought up, and President Bush made his decision based on the dangers of an uncontrolled reentry.{{cite web |url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1195/1|title=Assessing the hazards of space hydrazine, and the media reportage of it|first=James|last=Oberg|date=25 August 2008|publisher=The Space Review|access-date=17 February 2018}}

Other observers dismiss the threat of the hydrazine, suggesting that the effect of the cloud, when diluted over a large area, would likely be mild: "The hydrazine tank is a 1-meter sphere containing about 400 liters of hydrazine. The stated hazard area is about 2 hectares, something like 1/10,000,000,000 of the area under the orbit. The potential for actual harm is unbelievably small".{{cite web |url=https://www.wired.com/2008/02/fishy-rationale/|title=Experts Scoff at Sat Shoot-Down Rationale (Updated)|last=Shachtman|first=Noah|date=15 February 2008|website=wired.com|access-date=17 February 2019}} Other analyses, such as those cited by Yousaf Butt, show the hydrazine tank burning up in the upper atmosphere.{{cite web|url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1200/1|title=On the technical study of USA-193's fuel tank reentry|first=Yousaf|last=Butt|date=2 September 2008|publisher=The Space Review|access-date=17 February 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/technical-comments-the-us-satellite-shootdown|title=Technical Comments on the U.S. Satellite Shootdown|first=Yousaf|last=Butt|date=21 August 2008|publisher=The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |access-date=17 February 2019}}{{cite report|last1=Kelley|first1=Robert L.|last2=Rochelle|first2=William C.|date=August 2008|title=Atmospheric Reentry of a Hydrazine Tank |url=https://media.thebulletin.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/NASA_White_Paper.pdf|publisher=NASA|access-date=17 February 2019|via=The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists}}

Two examples of uncontrolled atmospheric re-entries causing (or almost causing) damage are the 1978 re-entry of Kosmos 954, a Soviet satellite, which landed in Canada and spread dangerous amounts of nuclear fuel from its onboard reactor over large tracts of land, and Skylab's 1979 re-entry, which rattled windows and dropped small pieces of debris onto buildings in Esperance, Western Australia (no significant monetary damage resulted, but the U.S. was symbolically fined US$400 for littering).{{cite news |url=http://www.esperanceexpress.com.au/news/local/news/general/littering-fine-paid/1488319.aspx?storypage=0|title=Littering fine paid|first=Hannah|last=Siemer|date=17 April 2009|newspaper=The Esperance Express |access-date=23 September 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124010934/http://www.esperanceexpress.com.au/news/local/news/general/littering-fine-paid/1488319.aspx?storypage=0 |archive-date=24 January 2011}} No weapon existed in 1978 to bring down Kosmos 954, and a Soviet anti-satellite weapon (part of the Istrebitel Sputnikov program), the first of its kind, was declared operational only ten days before Skylab re-entered the atmosphere, and was not capable of directing the space station's descent.

Before the destruction of USA-193, Pentagon officials repeatedly denied that it was meant to bolster the U.S. missile defense program. Six days after USA-193's destruction, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said, "the mission's success shows that U.S. plans for a missile-defense system are realistic" though in the same statement it was claimed that the weapons and systems used for this mission will not retain their ASAT capability, and will be reconfigured back to their original purpose as tactical missiles.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1579431/Out-of-control-satellite-destroyed-over-Pacific.html|title=Out-of-control satellite destroyed over Pacific|last=Chivers|first=Tom|date=21 February 2008|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=28 February 2011}}

The destruction of USA-193 created 174 pieces of orbital debris that were cataloged by the U.S. military.Data retrieved from the U.S. military's public satellite catalog maintained at {{cite web|url=http://www.space-track.org|title=Space Track|access-date=12 August 2013|url-access=registration}} While most of this debris re-entered the Earth's atmosphere within a few months, a few pieces lasted slightly longer because they were thrown into higher orbits. The final piece of USA-193 debris (COSPAR 2006-057GH, SATCAT 35425) re-entered on 28 October 2009.

The launch of at least one other satellite was postponed to avoid space debris from USA-193. An Atlas V launch hot line recording indicated the debris would delay the launch of a different National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellite USA-200 (NROL-28) as "a precautionary measure".{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2008-02-28-1798981274_x.htm|title=Rocket Delayed to Avoid Space Debris|date=28 February 2008|newspaper=USA Today|access-date=17 February 2019}}

• International Designator: 2006-057A
• Satellite Catalog Number: 29651{{cite web|url=http://celestrak.com/satcat/search.asp|title=SATCAT search|publisher=CelesTrak|access-date=17 February 2019|archive-date=15 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215120607/http://www.celestrak.com/satcat/search.asp|url-status=dead}}

{{Gallery

|align=center

|File:Delta II-NROL-21-Vandenberg-20061214.jpg

|Delta II launched carrying USA-193, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, December 2006

|File:Delta II-Vandenberg-20061214-NROL-21.jpg

|Delta II leaving Vandenberg, December 2006

|File:SM-3 launch-USS Lake Erie-20080220.jpg

|Fire Controlman 2nd Class Andrew Jackson launches the RIM-161 Standard missile 3 that destroyed USA-193, 20 February 2008

|File:SM-3 ignition for a satellite destruction mission.jpg

|Missile launching from the USS Lake Erie, on 20 February 2008

|File:Cartwright and England follow the progress of USA 193.jpg

|Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright (left), and Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon R. England follow the progress of the Standard Missile-3.

|File:SM-3 climbs into the sky for a satellite destruction mission.jpg

|Missile launches off the USS Lake Erie.

|File:Night launch of a RIM-161 Standard SM-3.jpg

|SM-3 before launching to destroy the NROL-21 satellite

|File:Standard Missile III SM-3 RIM-161 test launch 04017005.jpg

|Closeup of SM-3 launching

|File:US Navy 030303-N-3235P-503 A topside view of the forward MK-41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) aboard the guided missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56).jpg

|View of the vertical launching system on a Ticonderoga-class cruiser

|File:SM-3 launch to destroy the NRO-L 21 satellite.jpg

|Launch of the SM-3 missile that intercepted USA-193

}}

{{Portal|Spaceflight}}

• P78-1, a U.S. satellite in a {{cvt|470|km}} orbit that was destroyed during a 1985 U.S. Air Force ASM-135 ASAT test
• 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test
• Anti-satellite weapon
• Kill vehicle
• Space debris
• Space warfare

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|NROL-21}}

{{wikinews| Disabled U.S. spy satellite to fall to Earth|US military to shoot down errant spy satellite|U.S. Navy successfully destroys disabled spy satellite}}

• {{cite web|url=http://www.zarya.info/Tracking/USA193/USA193.php|title=Digest and Maps of the USA-193 Interception|last=Christy|first=Robert|publisher=Zarya|access-date=21 February 2008|archive-date=25 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225120034/http://www.zarya.info/Tracking/USA193/USA193.php|url-status=dead}}
• {{cite web|url=http://sattrackcam.blogspot.com/2008/01/usa-193-imminent-decay-in-news.html|title=USA-193: Life and Death of a Spy Satellite|date=21 February 2008|publisher=SatTrackCam}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.heavens-above.com/usa193.aspx|title=Decaying spy satellite USA-193|first=Chris|last=Peat|publisher=Heavens Above}}
• {{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/02/19/satellite.shootdown/|title=U.S. to shoot down satellite Wednesday, official says|date=19 February 2008|publisher=CNN}}
• {{cite web|url=http://satobs.org/seesat_ref/06057A/USA_193_NOTAM_Feb_21-25_UTC.pdf|title=USA-193 NOTAM|date=February 2008|publisher=Satobs.org}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.heavens-above.com/orbitdisplay.asp?satid=29651&lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=CET|title=USA-193 Current Orbit Data|first=Chris|last=Peat|publisher=Heavens Above|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418051258/http://www.heavens-above.com/orbitdisplay.asp?satid=29651&lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=CET|archive-date=18 April 2009}}
• {{cite video|title=Missile Intercept|date=21 February 2008|url=http://wpc.200e.edgecastcdn.net/00200E/mps/DODvClips/476/169/MissileIntercept_Web_output_1_2B5L.wmv|medium=Video|publisher=U.S. Department of Defense|access-date=21 February 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723105202/http://wpc.200e.edgecastcdn.net/00200E/mps/DODvClips/476/169/MissileIntercept_Web_output_1_2B5L.wmv |archive-date=23 July 2011}}

{{US Reconnaissance Satellites}}

{{NRO Launches}}

{{Orbital launches in 2006}}

Category:Intentionally destroyed artificial satellites

Category:National Reconnaissance Office satellites

Category:Spacecraft launched by Delta II rockets

Category:Spacecraft launched in 2006

Category:USA satellites

Category:Secret space vehicles

Category:Satellite collisions