CAPRICORN

CAPRICORN is a classified satellite launched for the National Reconnaissance Office on 29 January 1998 from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas IIA. The project seemed to have been several years behind schedule (based on the launch vehicle serial number). It is possible that it may have been a technology test satellite combining equipment for several future projects. The probable mission includes a follow-on to the SDS data relay satellites that route reconnaisance satellite imagery data, with secondary missile warning capability with the COBRA BRASS infrared sensor. An Odetics Corporation press release of March 1998 suggested that at least one payload was a Cobra Brass prototype.

Sources and Resources

• Odetics SSR Operational In Space on Cobra Brass Payload March 15, 1998 - Odetics was informed today by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) that "the Cobra Brass payload containing an Odetics solid-state recorder (SSR) is fully operational in space."