Sound of Silence From Shuttle Is Good News

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

Atlantis blasted off early Wednesday with five military astronauts and a cargo believed to be a $500-million spy satellite. It was the space agency’s sixth attempt at launching the 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 H. 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 spokesman for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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

The first scheduled liftoff was halted when the crew’s commander, Navy Capt. John O. Creighton, was stricken with a cold. His illness, combined with uncertain weather, prompted NASA officials to scrub the second launch. The other launches were blocked by poor weather and a malfunctioning computer.

The mission is expected to last 4 1/2 days and end with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, sources said.