The National Reconnaissance Office says the classified NROL-30 payload launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., June 15 achieved “nominal” vehicle separation from the booster. NRO expressed confidence that the space vehicle could perform its mission, despite the Centaur upper stage “technical anomaly which resulted in minor performance degradation.”
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.