Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!decwrl!labrea!rutgers!njin!princeton!udel!udccvax1!anderer
From: anderer@vax1.acs.udel.EDU (David G Anderer)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Info wanted on Atlantis "secret" military satellite payload
Message-ID: <2531@udccvax1.acs.udel.EDU>
Date: 13 Dec 88 15:55:47 GMT
References: <12418@bellcore.bellcore.com> <4272@teklds.CAE.TEK.COM> <12603@bellcore.bellcore.com>
Reply-To: anderer@vax1.acs.udel.EDU (David G Anderer)
Organization: University of Delaware
Lines: 18


Actually, Deep Black makes a good case that this payload was a KH-12.

"Kennedy Space Center planning charts showed the first KH-12 launch,
originally scheduled for the shuttle's second launch from Vandenburg
as Mission 62-B, had been changed to the second shuttle launch from
the Kennedy Space Center at Canaveral after shuttle flight resumed."

Other points made are that the KH-12 has a *large* maneuvering fuel
capacity, so the 57 degree limitation from Kennedy could be overcome.

This all makes sense when coupled with the horrible state of US
imaging capability over the last few years:  One KH-11 in orbit in
late '85, the next one (the last production one) lost in an '85
launch, Challenger, the last KH-9 destroyed when the 34D exploded 
out of Vandenburg in April '86.  So we had one KH-11 in orbit, due
to expire in late '87, one prototype KH-11 that might be made
space-worthy (was it?), and a KH-12 that required a shuttle.