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 American 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 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 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] |
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
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References
edit- ^ Ray, Justin (9 July 2009). "Atlas rocket team continues active year of launches". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Peat, Chris (10 January 2015). "USA 207 - Orbit". Heavens-Above. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan (10 September 2009). "Issue 615". Jonathan's Space Report. Jonathan's Space Page. Archived from the original on 15 September 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
- ^ "Spacewarn Bulletin Issue 671". NASA NSSDC. 30 September 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ^ a b Day, Dwayne (24 August 2009). "PAN's labyrinth". The Space Review. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
- ^ a b c Langbroek, Marco (31 October 2016). "A NEMESIS in the sky. PAN, Mentor 4 and close encounters of the SIGINT kind". The Space Review. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ^ a b "New Horizons" (PDF). Lockheed Martin. December 2007. p. 7 (5 of PDF). Retrieved 6 September 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Covault, Craig (26 May 2009). "Secret PAN satellite leads Cape milspace launch surge". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
- ^ "Inside Menwith Hill. The NSA's British Base at the Heart of U.S. Targeted Killing". The Intercept. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ "Highlights" (PDF). Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. Spring 2007. pp. 28 (29 of PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
- ^ Clark, Stephen. "Worldwide Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
- ^ Malik, Tariq (30 August 2009). "Atlas 5 Rocket to Secret Satellite [sic]". Space.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
- ^ Langbroek, Marco (14 September 2021). "PAN (NEMESIS 1) is on the move again". SatTrackCam Blog. SatTrackCam Leiden. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
