NASA Breaks Own Security on Secret Shuttle Launching

The space agency, unwittingly violating a security plan, said Friday that countdown preparations will start at 4 a.m. Monday for the launching of the shuttle Discovery Wednesday on a secret military flight.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration spokesman Hugh Harris said the announcement was the result of a “misunderstanding” over security restrictions for the first classified shuttle mission.

“No announcement of anything having to do with the beginning of the countdown . . . will be given with respect (to) the real time associated with the real launch,” NASA spokesman Charles Redmond said.

Discovery is scheduled to blast off between 1:15 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, carrying into orbit what defense sources say is an Air Force “signals intelligence” spy satellite capable of monitoring Soviet communications.

For the first time in the shuttle program, the exact launching time is secret. The Air Force hopes the uncertainty will hamper Soviet efforts to track the shuttle or its sensitive payload.