Silence Means All Is Well on Secret Shuttle Mission

Space shuttle Atlantis, aloft at last on a secret military mission after five launch delays, orbited the globe today in a public silence that NASA officials said meant all is well.

Atlantis blasted off with five military astronauts and a cargo believed to be a $500-million spy satellite at 2:51 a.m. EST, its 700-foot column of fire visible for hundreds of miles along the East Coast. It was NASA’s sixth attempt at launching the 100-ton spaceship for the mission, one short of a record for the most shuttle postponements.

“Thank goodness we can finally stop meeting like this,” NASA Administrator Richard Truly told the launch team after Atlantis rocketed into orbit. “It was a tough one to get off, but a great job.”

Nothing was heard from Atlantis’ all-military crew, and launch director Bob Sieck said, “The crew was pretty quiet and very patient.”

“The fact that we haven’t heard anything indicates that all is going according to plan,” added Bruce Buckingham, a NASA spokesman.

Because of the classified nature of the Pentagon mission, NASA quickly blacked out public release of communications from the shuttle for the entire trip.

As the rocket ignited, light burst from the launch pad and leaped from cloud to cloud.

People as far north as Washington reported seeing the blue, white and red light of Atlantis’ rockets as the spaceship streaked up the East Coast on the highest inclination orbit ever traveled by a shuttle. For many, it resembled a brilliant falling star.

“It only lasted about seven to 10 seconds. But it beat the hell out of a fireworks show,” said Mike Albertson, an editor at the Savannah (Ga.) Evening Press who watched from Tybee Island, Ga.

Atlantis’ 62-degree inclination puts it over far northern parts of the Soviet Union never before observed by a shuttle-launched satellite. The spy satellite on board is capable of taking high-resolution photographs and listening in on electronic communications from around the world.