Plan Told to Launch Gulf Spy Satellite

The crew of the shuttle Atlantis will launch a 22,000-pound spy satellite into orbit over the Persian Gulf region next month, Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine reported Friday.

In its Oct. 23 edition, the industry journal quotes military sources as saying the satellite will provide strategic and tactical reconnaissance aid to Operation Desert Shield forces in the Middle East. Advance copies of the article were supplied to reporters here.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has not announced a launch date, but an evening liftoff Nov. 10 or 11 is expected.

The satellite will be flown to an altitude of 150 miles, where five astronauts will release it to be propelled by on-board motors into a 460-mile-high orbit, the magazine said.