posted 05-22-2001 02:39 AM            

Satellite With Laser Launched From Florida
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., (Reuters) - A Delta 2 rocket carried a $130 million communications satellite with an experimental laser into orbit on Friday. The rocket was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 1:45 p.m. EDT (1745 GMT), according to Boeing Co. (BA), which manufactures and launches the Delta 2. The satellite, known as GeoLITE, or the Geosynchronous Lightweight Technology Experiment, will be operated by the National Reconnaissance Office, which operates spy satellites and provides classified images for the U.S. Defense Department. The satellite carries a laser communications experiment as well as a conventional UHF communications package. The $130 million price tag is relatively inexpensive, thanks to the laser communications, and the NRO will assess its performance for possible inclusion in a new generation of spy satellites, an NRO spokesman said. The laser increases the amount of information that can be transmitted to Earth. The 1,400 pound (635 kg) satellite will fly to a point 22,300 miles (35,890 km) over the equator, an area known as geosynchronous orbit, where satellites are always positioned over the same spot on Earth, their own orbits keeping pace with the planet's rotation.

• Originally published by •
IWon Money - May 18 2001