Second heaviest satellite launched into space at 20,000 kg

Operated by National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) of USA, USA 314 is a military satellite launched for the purpose of earth observation (Optical Imaging).

Delivered via Delta 4 Heavy (launch vehicle) from Vandenberg AFB, it was launched into space on 26 April 2021 and orbits the Earth as a sun-synchronous LEO satellite. USA 314 was constructed by Lockheed Martin (USA).

Designated with COSPAR ID 2021-032A and NORAD ID 48247, USA 314 is designed to operate in space for a lifetime of 5 years. It has a launch mass of 20,000 kg.

Taking 98 minutes to orbit the Earth, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 524km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 758km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 1.67E-02 and it orbits at an inclination of 98 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.

 Compare USA 314 with Dove 4a-11 from USA.

 Compare USA 314 with Ningxia-1 01 from China.