USA-268

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USA-268
Spacecraft properties
Launch of USA-268

Mission type	Signals intelligence
Operator	National Reconnaissance Office
COSPAR ID	2016-036A
SATCAT no.	41584


Spacecraft type	Advanced Orion


Start of mission
Launch date	11 June 2016, 17:51 (2016-06-11UTC17:51Z) UTC
Rocket	Delta IV Heavy
Launch site	Cape Canaveral SLC-37B


Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Geostationary
Perigee altitude	35,563 kilometers (22,098 mi)
Apogee altitude	36,024 kilometers (22,384 mi)
Inclination	6.6 degrees
Period	1436.1 minutes

USA-268, also known as NROL-37, is an American signals intelligence satellite. Though officially classified, it is known to be an Advanced Orion satellite, making it one of the largest and most expensive satellites ever built.^[1]

Launch[]

USA-268 was launched at 17:51 UTC on 11 June 2016 from Space Launch Complex 37B. It was the ninth flight of a Delta IV Heavy, and the fifth carrying an Advanced Orion.^[2]

References[]

^ "NROL-37 Satellite – Delta IVH – NROL-37 | Spaceflight101". Retrieved 2020-09-29.
^ Alliance, United Launch. "United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches NROL-37 Payload for the National Reconnaissance Office". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2020-09-29.

v t NRO launches
L-8 L-9 L-21 L-22 L-24 L-25 L-26 L-27 L-28 L-29 L-31 L-32 L-34 L-35 L-37 L-39 L-40 L-41 L-42 ... L-49 L-65 L-66

v t ← 2015 · Orbital launches in 2016 · 2017 →
January	Belintersat-1 – Jason-3 – IRNSS-1E – Intelsat 29e – Eutelsat 9B
February	BeiDou M3-S – USA-266 / GPS IIF-12 – Kosmos 2514 / GLONASS-M 751 – Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 – / NROL-45 / Topaz-4 – Sentinel-3A – ASTRO-H / Hitomi · ChubuSat-2 · ChubuSat-3 · Horyu-4
March	SES-9 – – IRNSS-1F – Resurs-P No.3 – ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter · Schiaparelli EDM – Soyuz TMA-20M – Cygnus CRS OA-6 (Diwata-1 · Flock-2e' × 20 · Lemur-2 × 9) – / No.2 – BeiDou IGSO-6 – Progress MS-02
April	– Dragon CRS-8 · BEAM – Sentinel-1B · MICROSCOPE · AAUSAT-4 · e-st@r-II · OUFTI-1 – Mikhailo Lomonosov · Aist-2D · SamSat 218 – IRNSS-1G
May	JCSAT-14 – Yaogan 30 – Galileo FOC-10, FOC-11 – Thaicom 8 – Kosmos 2516 / GLONASS-M 753 – Ziyuan III-02 · ÑuSat 1, 2
June	/ Geo-IK-2 No.12 – Intelsat 31 / DLA-2 – USA-268 / NROL-37 – BeiDou G7 – Eutelsat 117 West B · ABS-2A – · – · · · · M3MSat · SkySat-C1 · Flock-2p × 12 · SathyabamaSat · Swayam – MUOS-5 – Chinese next-generation crew capsule scale model · Aolong-1 · Aoxiang Zhixing · Tiange-1 · Tiange-2 –
July	Soyuz MS-01 – Progress MS-03 – Dragon CRS-9 – / NROL-61
August	Tiantong-1 01 – Gaofen-3 – JCSAT-16 – QUESS / Mozi / Micius · ³Cat-2 · LiXing-1 – / GSSAP #3 · / GSSAP #4 – Intelsat 33e · Intelsat 36 – Gaofen-10
September	Amos-6 – INSAT-3DR – OSIRIS-REx – Ofek-11 – Tiangong-2 – -1 · SkySat × 4 – ScatSat-1 · Alsat-1B · Alsat-2B · Blacksky Pathfinder-1 · Alsat-1N · CanX-7 · PISat · Pratham
October	Sky Muster II · GSAT-18 – Shenzhou 11 – Cygnus CRS OA-5 (Lemur-2 × 4) – Soyuz MS-02
November	Himawari 9 – – XPNAV 1 – WorldView-4 · CELTEE 1 · Prometheus-2 × 2 · AeroCube 8 × 2 · U2U · RAVAN – – Galileo FOC 7, 12, 13, 14 – Soyuz MS-03 – GOES-R – Tianlian I-04
December	Progress MS-04 – Göktürk-1 – Resourcesat-2A – WGS-8 – HTV-6 / Kounotori 6 · (EGG · TuPOD · UBAKUSAT · AOBA-VELOX · STARS · FREEDOM · ITF · Waseda-SAT · OSNSAT · Tancredo-1 · TechEDSat · Lemur-2 × 4) – Fengyun 4A – CYGNSS × 8 – – Arase / ERG – TanSat · × 2 – Star One D1 · JCSAT-15 – / Gaojing-1 01, 02 · 1
Launches are separated by dashes ( – ), payloads by dots ( · ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Cubesats are smaller. Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in brackets).

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USA-268

Launch[]

See also[]

References[]