Engineering:USA-207
 PAN mission patch | |
| Mission type | SIGINT |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 2009-047A |
| SATCAT no. | 35815 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | A2100 |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 8 September 2009, 21:35:00 UTC[2] |
| Rocket | Atlas V 401 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station SLC-41 |
| Contractor | ULA |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Geostationary |
| Perigee altitude | 35,778 kilometers (22,231 mi)[3] |
| Apogee altitude | 35,807 kilometers (22,249 mi)[3] |
| Inclination | 0.09 degrees[3] |
| Period | 1436.12 minutes[3] |
| Epoch | 10 January 2015, 14:22:18 UTC[3] |
USA-207,[4] international COSPAR code 2009-047A,[5] also known as PAN, officially meaning Palladium At Night,[6] NEMESIS I,[7] or P360[8] is a classified United States SIGINT satellite,[7] which was launched in September 2009. The US government has not confirmed which of its intelligence agencies operate the satellite, [9] but leaked documents from the Snowden files point to the NSA.[10] The spacecraft was constructed by Lockheed Martin, and is based on the A2100 satellite bus,[6] using commercial off-the-shelf components.[8] The contract to build PAN was awarded in October 2006, with the satellite initially scheduled to launch 30 months later, in March 2009.[11]
PAN was launched by United Launch Alliance using an Atlas V 401 carrier rocket, with the serial number AV-018. The launch, from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station , occurred at 21:35 GMT on 8 September 2009, at the start of a 129-minute launch window.[12] PAN successfully separated from the rocket just under two hours after liftoff.[13]
PAN has shown an unusual history of frequent relocations during the first 5 years of its operations, moving between at least 9 different orbital slots since launch. With each move, it was placed close to another commercial communications satellite.[7] From 2013 onwards it was located at 47.7 deg E., over East Africa, staying in that position for several years. In February 2021 it started a slow drift eastwards.[14]
Gallery
References
- ↑ Ray, Justin (2009-07-09). "Atlas rocket team continues active year of launches". Spaceflight Now. http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av018/090709status.html.
- ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Peat, Chris (10 January 2015). "USA 207 - Orbit". Heavens-Above. http://www.heavens-above.com/orbit.aspx?satid=35815.
- ↑ McDowell, Jonathan (2009-09-10). "Issue 615". Jonathan's Space Report. Jonathan's Space Page. http://www.planet4589.org/space/jsr/back/news.615.
- ↑ "Spacewarn Bulletin Issue 671". NASA NSSDC. 2009-09-30. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/spacewarn/spx671.html.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Day, Dwayne (2009-08-24). "PAN's labyrinth". The Space Review. http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1450/1.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Langbroek, Marco (2016-10-31). "A NEMESIS in the sky. PAN, Mentor 4 and close encounters of the SIGINT kind". The Space Review. http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3095/1.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "New Horizons". Lockheed Martin. December 2007. p. 7 (5 of PDF). http://www.lockheedmartin.com/data/assets/ssc/071204a.pdf.[no|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
- ↑ Covault, Craig (2009-05-26). "Secret PAN satellite leads Cape milspace launch surge". Spaceflight Now. http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0905/26milspace/.
- ↑ "Inside Menwith Hill. The NSA's British Base at the Heart of U.S. Targeted Killing". The Intercept. 2016-09-06. https://theintercept.com/2016/09/06/nsa-menwith-hill-targeted-killing-surveillance/.
- ↑ "Highlights". Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. Spring 2007. pp. 28 (29 of PDF). http://www.lockheedmartin.com/data/assets/14445.pdf.
- ↑ Clark, Stephen. "Worldwide Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html.
- ↑ Malik, Tariq (2009-08-30). "Atlas 5 Rocket to Secret Satellite [sic]". Space.com. http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/launches/next_launch.html.
- ↑ Langbroek, Marco (2021-09-14). "PAN (NEMESIS 1) is on the move again". SatTrackCam Blog. SatTrackCam Leiden. https://sattrackcam.blogspot.com/2021/09/pan-nemesis-1-is-on-move-again.html.
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