The Air Force and its industry partners launched a National Reconnaissance Office classified payload into orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. “This was our 11th launch for 2013 and I couldn’t be more proud of this team of professionals,” said Col. Keith Balts, commander of Vandy’s 30th Space Wing, of the Dec. 5 mission, in a base release. NROL-39 was the last of NRO’s two missions in 2013, according to a release from the agency. It followed NROL-65 in August. The classified payload may be a radar-imaging satellite, reported NASASpaceFlight.com. NROL-39 also featured the Government Experimental Multi-Satellite as an auxiliary payload. GEMSat contained 12 CubeSats, nanosatellites that will perform scientific experiments and demonstrate high-technology operational concepts, according to NRO’s release. Among them is the Air Force’s ALICE payload that features a carbon nanotube array with “great potential for smaller, lighter, and more energy-efficient satellite propulsion,” states the release. GEMSat “represents a significant milestone in accomplishing consistent access to space for advancing novel capabilities,” said Maj. David Illsley, NRO’s overhead solutions branch chief. NRO’s first nanosat rideshare mission was NROL-36 in August 2012.
National Guard adjutants general from nearly two dozen states have signed a letter to Congress seeking multiyear funding for the Air Force to purchase between 72 and 100 new fighter jets per year to modernize the total force.The letter, sent to Congress last week, stresses the need for the Air…