*** AV-075/NROL-52 launch fact sheet *** Payload: CLASSIFIED NATIONAL SECURITY PAYLOAD NRO geosynchronous communications satellite Relays imagery and intelligence from LEO craft Launch Date: Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017 Target Launch Time: 4:07 a.m. EDT 0807 GMT Launch Period: 90 minutes 3:30-5:00 a.m. EDT 0730-0900 GMT Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida Space Launch Complex 41 Customer: National Reconnaissance Office Launch Enterprise Directorate, Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center Launch Services Provider: United Launch Alliance, Centennial, Colorado Launch Vehicle: Atlas 5 designated AV-075 421 configuration Weight at liftoff: 950,000 pounds Thrust at liftoff: 1.6 million pounds Height: 194 feet (59 m) Common Core Booster with RD-180 engine 73,800 gallons RP-1 kerosene and liquid oxygen Thrust: 860,300 pounds Two side-mounted solid-fuel rocket boosters World's largest monolithic SRB Thrust: 380,000 pounds each Centaur upper stage with RL10C-1 engine 16,450 gallons liquid hydrogen and oxygen Thrust: 23,300 pounds Extra Extended Payload Fairing 14-foot-dia., 45-foot-tall aluminum shroud Construction: Atlas stage and Centaur upper stage built by United Launch Alliance in Decatur, Alabama Fairing manufactured by ULA in Harlingen, Texas RD-180 from NPO Energomash, Khimki, Russia SRBs by Aerojet Rocketdyne, Sacramento, Calif. RL10C-1 from Aerojet Rocketdyne, West Palm Beach, Florida Payload Speculation: NROL-52 is believed to be the second spacecraft in the Fourth Generation of the Satellite Data System. The NRO has used earlier versions of the SDS in geosynchronous orbit to relay data from low-Earth orbiting surveillance platforms. Two classified missions -- NROL-61 last July and NROL-52 -- are payloads on fixed-price contracts that include provisions for Atlas 5 launch vehicles provided as government-furnished equipment. About the NRO: Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, the National Reconnaissance Office develops and operates overhead reconnaissance systems and conducts intelligence-related activities for U.S. national Security. NRO Uses: The NRO is the nation's eyes and ears in space, supporting policy makers, the Armed Services, the Intelligence Community, Departments of State, Justice and Treasury, and civil agencies. All of them depend on the unique capabilities NRO systems provide. NRO Capabilities: - Monitoring the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction - Tracking international terrorists, drug traffickers, and criminal organizations - Developing highly accurate military targeting data and bomb damage assessments - Supporting international peacekeeping and humanitarian relief operations - Assessing the impact of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and fires. NRO Constellations: Exquisite-class electro-optical and radar-imaging observatories, geosynchronous and Molniya-orbit eavesdropping platforms, ocean surveillance network and data-relay support spacecraft * Launch statistics * - The 656th launch for Atlas program since 1957 - The 359th Atlas launch from Cape Canaveral - The 245th mission of a Centaur upper stage - The 222nd use of Centaur by an Atlas rocket - The 483rd production RL10 engine to be launched - The 22nd RL10C-1 engine launched - The 80th flight of an RD-180 main engine - The 94-95th AJ-60 solid rocket booster flown - The 74th launch of an Atlas 5 since 2002 - The 16th National Reconnaissance Office use of Atlas 5 - The 60th launch of an Atlas 5 from Cape Canaveral - The 6th Atlas 5 launch of 2017 - The 109th Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle flight - The 26th EELV flight for National Reconnaissance Office - The 122nd United Launch Alliance flight overall - The 66th Atlas 5 under United Launch Alliance - The 88th United Launch Alliance flight from Cape Canaveral - The 26th NRO launch by United Launch Alliance - The 51st 400-series flight of the Atlas 5 - The 7th Atlas 5 to fly in the 421 configuration - The 87th launch from Complex 41 - The 60th Atlas 5 to use Complex 41 - The 49th NRO launch since acknowledging flights in 1996 - The 24th acknowledged NRO launch from Cape Canaveral - The 4th NRO launch this year Twitter Feeds: Spaceflight Now ULA CEO Tory Bruno National Reconnaissance Office United Launch Alliance Aerojet Rocketdyne