Lacrosse (satellite)

Not to be confused with LCROSS.

Lacrosse/Onyx

Image released by the NRO, reportedly showing a Lacrosse satellite under construction
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Country of origin	United States
Operator	US National Reconnaissance Office
Applications	Radar imaging
Specifications
Regime	Low Earth
Production
Status	Out of Production
Built	5 known
Launched	5
Operational	3
Maiden launch	USA-34, 1988-12-03
Last launch	USA-182, 2005-04-30

Lacrosse or Onyx is a series of terrestrial radar imaging reconnaissance satellites operated by the United States National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). While not officially confirmed by the NRO or anybody in the U.S. government, for a long time, there was and is widespread evidence to confirm its existence, including one NASA website. In July 2008, the NRO itself declassified the existence of their SAR satellite constellation.

According to former Director of Central Intelligence Admiral Stansfield Turner, Lacrosse had its origins in 1978 when a dispute between the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Air Force as to whether a combined optical/radar reconnaissance satellite (the CIA proposal) or a radar-only one (the USAF proposal) should be developed was resolved in favor of the USAF.

Lacrosse uses synthetic aperture radar as its prime imaging instrument. It is able to see through cloud cover and also has some ability to penetrate soil, though there have been more powerful instruments deployed in space for this specific purpose. Early versions are believed to have used the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) to relay imagery to a ground station at White Sands, New Mexico. There are some indications that other relay satellites may now be available for use with Lacrosse. The name Lacrosse is used to refer to all variants, while Onyx is sometimes used to refer to the three newer units.

Unit costs (including launch) in 1990 dollars are estimated to be in the range of US$0.5 to 1.0 billion (inflation adjusted US$ to billion in 2024).

Future

It had been anticipated that the Lacrosse satellites would be replaced by the radar component of the Future Imagery Architecture (FIA). The severe program problems encountered by FIA in the early 2000s (decade) led to a plan to off-load radar reconnaissance to the Space Based Radar, later simplified to Space Radar, with initial launch anticipated around 2015. This program itself was axed by Congress late 2008. The launch of NROL-41 (USA 215) in September 2010 has all orbital characteristics of a radar remote sensing platform (see FIA) and could be the first of a Lacrosse follow-up program. Its orbit is a retrograde version of the "frozen" Lacrosse orbit, the choice for a retrograde orbit itself indicating a SAR role.

Launches

Constellation of the Lacrosse (Onyx) SAR satellites currently in orbit (August 2011)

Five Lacrosse spacecraft have been launched, with three currently in orbit. The Lacrosses move in orbital planes either 68° or 57° inclined. These orbital inclinations of 68° and 57°, combined with their altitude give the satellites a complete view of the earth's surface, including the poles. Lacrosse 5 appears to differ somewhat from the previous four satellites. As determined by amateur observers, there are subtle differences in its orbit and its color is somewhat whiter than the distinct red-orange tint of the earlier ones. Most strikingly, it sometimes fades from brightness to invisibility within the space of a few seconds while still in full sunlight. (The amateurs call this rapid fade its "disappearing trick".)

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  USA-133 traversing Canis minor as seen from Leiden, the Netherlands, on 19 March 2011

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  Lacrosse 5 (05-016A) brightness profile showing the sudden dip in brightness known as the "disappearance trick".

Name	COSPAR ID SATCAT №	Launch date (UTC)	Launch vehicle	Launch site	Launch designation	Orbit	Decay date	Remarks
USA-34	1988-106B 19671	2 December 1988 14:30:34	Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-27)	KSC LC-39B	N/A	437 km × 447 km × 57.0°	25 March 1997
USA-69	1991-017A 21147	8 March 1991 12:03	Titan IV(403)A	VAFB SLC-4E	N/A	420 km × 662 km × 68.0°	26 March 2011	First Titan IV launch from Vandenberg
USA-133	1997-064A 25017	24 October 1997 02:32	Titan IV(403)A	VAFB SLC-4E	NROL-3	666 km × 679 km × 57.0°	In orbit
USA-152	2000-047A 26473	17 August 2000 23:45:01	Titan IV(403)B	VAFB SLC-4E	NROL-11	695 km × 689 km × 68.0°	In orbit	After initial orbit, minor adjustments were made, sending it to 675 km × 572 km × 68.1°.
USA-182	2005-016A 28646	30 April 2005 00:50:00	Titan IV(403)B	CCAFS SLC-40	NROL-16	712 km × 718 km × 57.0°	In orbit	Final Titan launch from Cape Canaveral

See also

• Quill (satellite)
• SAR Lupe, radar imaging reconnaissance satellites of Germany

References

• Jeffrey T. Richelson, America's Secret Eyes in Space, New York, Harper & Row, 1990
• Stansfield Turner, Burn Before Reading, New York, Hyperion, 2005
• "Spy Satellites: Entering a New Era", Science, 24 March 1989

External links

• Lacrosse at Encyclopedia Astronautica
• Globalsecurity.org page on Lacrosse
• Globalsecurity.org page on TDRSS
• Lacrosse 2 orbit at Heavens Above
• Lacrosse 3 orbit at Heavens Above
• Lacrosse 4 orbit at Heavens Above
• Lacrosse 5 orbit at Heavens Above
• Lacrosse at satobs.org
• Imagery by amateur astronomer using 10 reflector
• Photometric curves showing Lacrosse 5 disappearing trick