PAN’s labyrinth

The Space Review ^ | August 24, 2009 | Dwayne Day

[B-Chan]

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) was created in 1961 to oversee the development and operation of the United States’ intelligence satellites. But it was not until September 1992 that the organization’s very existence was declassified. The press release making the announcement, however, omitted two key words: “satellites” and “launch”. It took several more years before the NRO actually admitted that it operated satellites and that they were launched into space, and it was not until 1996 that the NRO admitted that it actually owned a classified satellite launched atop a rocket. This seemed rather anticlimactic to anybody who paid attention, because the Air Force and the Navy regularly announced their satellite launches and stated what they were, so any unclaimed launch had to be NRO. After taking this baby step, the NRO took a slightly bolder step and began announcing its satellite launches in advance, giving each of them an NRO Launch (NROL) designation, followed by a number.

But now something odd has happened that has satellite observers scratching their heads: the Air Force has announced the upcoming launch of a classified satellite from Cape Canaveral, but no government agency, certainly not the NRO, has claimed ownership. Its mission remains mysterious, as do other aspects of its existence. It was supposed to launch on August 12, but that date has now slipped to September 8.

The launch is designated PAN.

Craig Covault first broke the story back in May, noting that it was highly unusual for no agency to claim ownership of a launch. Covault also referred to the spacecraft as PAN, stating that: “The PAN designation is likely a meaningless term used simply so the mission can be called something that will not give away its identity during integration with the launcher. The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has used phony mission designations for years at the Cape.” Some Internet commentators joked that PAN stood for “pick a name.”

But recently the launch patch for the mission was publicly released and it reveals that the name of the launch is not PAN. PAN is merely a shortened version of: “Palladium At Night.”

Not that this helps much. What the heck is a “Palladium At Night?”

There are a lot of dictionary references for palladium, but two may be appropriate:

pal·la·di·um 1. A safeguard, especially one viewed as a guarantee of the integrity of social institutions: the Bill of Rights, palladium of American civil liberties. 2. A sacred object that was believed to have the power to preserve a city or state possessing it.

It seems reasonable, even likely, that the name is a reference to the satellite’s mission as a safeguard. But that doesn’t help much either.

Based upon scant pre-launch information, satellite watcher Ted Molczan has concluded that it is more likely that PAN is going to fly to geosynchronous orbit than a low Earth orbit or even medium Earth orbit. The specific Atlas launch vehicle being used for this mission could place up to 2,700 kilograms into a geostationary orbit. But all of this raises a question: why draw more attention to this launch by not simply slapping it with an NROL designation?

A geosynchronous orbit is also consistent with Lockheed Martin’s announcement that the spacecraft uses one of the company’s commercial satellite buses, probably the A2100. The A2100 is also the core for the Space Based Infrared System missile warning satellites, so the bus does not have to be used for a comsat but could host another payload. Nevertheless, Molczan suspects that PAN could be the first of a fourth generation of Satellite Data System (SDS) communications relay satellites for the NRO. If the spacecraft flies to one of the known SDS slots in geosynchronous orbit, that would appear to be confirmation in his book.

SDS satellites first started flying in the 1970s with the mission of relaying data from low-flying photographic reconnaissance satellites back to ground stations in the United States. They operated in highly elliptical, highly inclined orbits so that a satellite low over the Soviet Union could point its antenna up over the North Pole and bounce off the SDS, which was also in line of sight with an American ground station. The second generation of SDS started flying in the 1990s, and there is an indication that the NRO started operating a second constellation in geosynchronous orbit during this period. A third generation began operating this decade.

But all of this raises a question: why draw more attention to this launch by not simply slapping it with an NROL designation? There must be a reason that the NRO is not claiming ownership, and the most likely reason is because the satellite belongs to a different government agency, such as DARPA or the Air Force. But that too raises a question of why they don’t simply acknowledge that it is theirs. The situation is not only confusing, it’s bizarre.

When PAN—er, Palladium At Night—finally gets launched, it may be possible to discern a little more of its intended mission. Or not. This is one mysterious bird.

[B-Chan]

If you click on the link, you'll see an image of the "launch patch" associated with the Palladium At Night launch. At its base, barely visible, a question mark is embroidered into the insignia.

Is Palladium at Night just another spy or intelligence-related satellite? Or is it a "sacred object... believed to have the power to preserve a city or state possessing it"?

What the hell is PAN?

[buccaneer81]

believed to have the power to preserve a city or state possessing it"?

Sounds like SDI to me.

[Jeff Head]

Barack Hussein Obama:
"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national-security objectives we've set, we've got to have a civilian national-security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded."

"I have to side with Justice Breyer's view of the Constitution--that it is not a static but rather a living document and must be read in the context of an ever-changing world."

THE GRIM REAPING OF AMERICA

OBAMA'S BRIDGE TOO FAR

AMERICA AT THE CROSSROADS OF HISTORY

THE STORM UNLEASHED ON AMERICA

A PETITION ON FACEBOOK FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RESTORATION

A 4TH OF JULY TEA PARTY SPEECH

...and on the lighter side, take your mind off the Obamanation for a few minutes and enjoy some beautiful Western US scenery slideshows.

JEFF HEAD'S WESTERN US SCENERY SLIDE SHOWS

[dead]

It took several more years before the NRO actually admitted that it operated satellites and that they were launched into space

Generally, being "launched into space" is a requirement for satellites.

[B-Chan]

Or maybe the Ark of the Covenant!

[dead]

Sounds like SDI to me.

Good guess. Perhaps something to address the growing concerns over an EMP threat.

Whatever it is, it has to have been in the works for years, and isn't some scary Obama domestic-spying threat.

Those may be coming, but are at least a few years away, if his cabal of leftist shithooks even has the technological insight and savvy to pull it off. Most likely, they'll just wish they did and will rely on the more traditional land-based spying methods pioneered by the Soviets. One knock and a kicked-down door type of stuff.

You don't need stealth when the media watchdogs got your back.

[null and void]

“Some Internet commentators joked that PAN stood for “pick a name.”

Pick A Name, courtesy of No Such Agency...

[stuartcr]

Deflector shield.

[stuartcr]

Yes, the ones launched elsewhere, don’t work nearly as well.

[null and void]

Or maybe the Ark of the Covenant!

My first thought.

The second?

The Spear of Destiny...

[B-Chan]

If the Spear of Destiny were launched into orbit, it would negate all superpowers possessed by superheroes on Earth, including those of Superman. Too risky!

[null and void]

Good “point”...

[B-Chan]

Seriously: anybody have any ideas?

[B-Chan]

It could be something like that. In the Iliad, the Palladium was a statue of Pallas (i.e. Athena) kept in a shrine in the city of Troy. The gods promised the Trojans that their city would never fall so long as the Palladium remained within the city walls.

Discovering this, the Acheans (Greeks) sent two spies (Odysseus and Diomedes) into Troy under cover of darkness. They succeeded in stealing the Palladium and carrying it back to Greek lines. Thus stripped of its divine protection the city of Troy was ripe for a fall. Not long after, the Trojan Horse appeared at the city gates, with results you know.

The Romans had two Palladia: a statue of Pallas (said to be the very one stolen from Troy) and the Ancilus, a shield said to have fallen from the sky — purportedly that of the god Mars himself. The Romans believed that whichever country held the Ancilus was given divine power to rule the world.

In Classical terms, then, a palladium is an object that makes a nation invincible. One can only speculate how the term applies to the PAN satellite — if, indeed, it does apply.

[tang-soo]

[null and void]

If I did I sure as heck wouldn’t post it on an open forum!

[stuartcr]

Well, speculation is one thing we do very well here on FR. Thanks