National Reconnaissance Office Satellite Successfully Launched

3 October 1998

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The National Reconnaissance Office's Space Technology Experiment satellite was successfully launched aboard an Orbital Science Corporation Taurus booster from SLC-576E here today.

The Space Technology Experiment (STEX) satellite will test lightweight, high performance spacecraft technologies that have been proven in the laboratory aboard an experimental satellite. The experiment helps the NRO decide if the technology under testing is right, if it can be effectively incorporated into an operational spacecraft system, and if it can be operated in space.

STEX was built by Lockheed-Martin Astronautics Corporation and takes advantage of the NRO's partnerships with industry and the Air Force and Naval Research Labs.