/ 28 October 2001

US LAUNCH ANOTHER SPY SATELLITE

A SPY satellite was blasted into space late on Wednesday atop an Air Force Atlas II AS rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Floriday, a military representative said on Thursday. The satellite belonged to the National Reconnaissance Office, the intelligence agency responsible for the government’s spy satellites, said Lieutenant Colonel Joe Lamarca, a representative for the US Space Command. It was the third secret NRO satellite to be launched since September 8. Aviation Week and Space Technology, a trade publication, said the satellite was designed to relay imagery and data from spy satellites to the CIA and the Defence Department. – Sapa-AFP