United States Air ForceTitan 401A CentaurSpace Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
NROL-4
Launched
November 8, 1997
Summary
NROL-4 (Trumpet 3) launched on an United States Air Force Titan 401A Centaur from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA on November 8, 1997. It was United States Air Force's 985th launch, 13th this year and humanity's 4,189th orbital launch attempt. It was the 8th Titan 401A Centaur flight and the 1st this year. The payload was bound for Geostationary Orbit (Direct-GEO). 2 objects from this launch are catalogued, one of them a payload.
- Watch
- No webcast on record.
- Vehicle
- Titan 401A Centaur · United States Air Force
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Government/Top Secret · Geostationary Orbit (Direct-GEO)
- Milestone
- 8th Titan 401A Centaur flight · 1st this yearUnited States Air Force's 985th launch13th this yearhumanity's 4,189th orbital launch attempt71st orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Catalogued objects
2 catalogued: 1 payload, 1 rocket stage; 1 still in orbit
- USA 136 · NORAD 25034 · in orbit
Centaur TC-16 · re-entered
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
Trumpet signal intelligence satellites were launched by Titan-4(01)A Centaur-T into highly elliptic Molniya-type orbits. In their elliptical orbits they would move very slowly over the northern hemisphere for most of their orbital period, allowing interception of microwave line-of-sight communications beams. Since they would move slowly through the beams during their orbit, a constellation of such satellites was required to monitor Soviet communications throughout the day.
Pad
Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
25th launch from Space Launch Complex 41, 1st this year · 538th from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
125 launches from this pad · 1,131 from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
562 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did NROL-4 (Trumpet 3) launch?
NROL-4 (Trumpet 3) launched on November 8, 1997. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch NROL-4 (Trumpet 3)?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched NROL-4 (Trumpet 3)?
Titan 401A Centaur, flown by United States Air Force. Titan 401A Centaur spec sheet
Where did NROL-4 (Trumpet 3) launch from?
Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA.
What orbit was NROL-4 (Trumpet 3) going to?
Geostationary Orbit (Direct-GEO), a government/top secret mission.
How many satellites did NROL-4 (Trumpet 3) launch?
1 payload from this launch is catalogued, still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).