Mystery Missile Launch Seen off Calif. Coast!!!

Hello everyone,

I was going to post this in a new thread but i still havent posted 20 times yet, actually this is my first post. I think this is probably the best explanation ive seen so far for what launched of californias coast. Everything matches up, location, type of rocket ( no, i dont think it was a missle) im now convinced that this is what launched Nov 9th. As it says in the article the program has been going on since september, the only reason noone made such a big deal about the previous ones is that they werent videotaped by a news helicopter and the spread like wildfire. HOWEVER there still is no explanation on why the government was so reluctant to release any information at the time, and i think thats the most important part of this whole story. Any thoughts?

space.com) Apr 15th 2011- A rocket carrying a new U.S. spy satellite lit up the California night sky Thursday on a secret mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.


The spy satellite NROL-34 soared into orbit atop an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket after launching from a pad at the Vandenberg Air Force Base at 9:24 p.m. PDT (0424 GMT on April 15) to begin the latest classified flight for the NRO.

The details of the satellite's purpose and final orbit are classified, but the new spacecraft will definitely serve a role for the U.S. military, officials said.

"This launch supports the military's national defense mission," officials with the United Launch Alliance, which orchestrated the satellite launch for the NRO, said in a mission description.
Because of the satellite's secret purpose, a media blackout was put in place about 4 1/2 minutes after the Atlas 5 rocket launched toward orbit. The rocket lifted off with the help of a single solid rocket booster to propel it into space.

Thursday's liftoff was the sixth satellite launch for the NRO since September - a series of secret missions that lifted off from pads at Vandenberg and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Several types of expendable rockets, including Delta, Minotaur and the Atlas boosters, were used for those missions.

"Six launches in this time is the most aggressive launch schedule for the NRO in two decades," said ULA launch commentator Don Spencer in a webcast.

The NROL-34 satellite launch followed the successful flight of another spy satellite, called NROL-27, which lifted off on March 11 from Cape Canaveral. [Video: Skywatcher Spots Secret X-37B Space Plane]

Thursday night's liftoff marked the fourth rocket launch of the year for the United Launch Alliance and the 25th flight of an Atlas 5 rocket since the booster's debut in 2002.


More Tech and Science Stories from Space.com

Video: Skywatcher Spots Secret X-37B Space Plane
Most Destructive Space Weapons of All Time
Photos: Spotting Satellites and Spaceships from Earth