NATION IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Secret Countdown for Shuttle Mission
A secret countdown was under way at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a liftoff Thursday of the space shuttle Atlantis with five military astronauts and a spy satellite. NASA would not disclose the status of the countdown because of the classified nature of the mission. The count will be made public just nine minutes before the planned liftoff Thursday. Sources said the payload is a 37,300-pound, $500-million satellite designed to take high-resolution photos and eavesdrop on military and diplomatic communications.
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