On Friday, November 13th at 22:32 UTC, a much-delayed United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket took off from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload known as USA-310. The launch itself was called NROL-101.
Originally scheduled for November 4th, it ended up being pushed 3 times, including once for Hurricane Eta, to its actual launch day of the 13th. This launch also marked the debut of new GEM-63 solid rocket boosters made by Northrop Grumman, a change from the Aerojet Rocketdyne boosters.
The circular mission patch features a golden Earth in the center, with the starry background divided into quarters. Each quarter features a star — I have no idea what the stars represent, but usually they represent satellites. A golden ring borders the batch, bearing the mission name as well as an Elvish script that translates to “Goodness Persists.” The NRO had tweeted a picture of the mission patch, explaining that it “pays tribute to the Lord of the Rings stories”.
Not much else is known about this payload or mission because it’s suuuuuuper secret.
More Information
Los Angeles Air Force Base press release
USA 310 info page (Gunter’s Space Page)
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Escape Velocity Space News
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