Lacrosse (satellite)

It had been anticipated that the Lacrosse satellites would be replaced by the radar component of the Future Imagery Architecture (FIA). The severe program problems encountered by FIA in the early 2000s (decade) led to a plan to off-load radar reconnaissance to the Space Based Radar, later simplified to Space Radar, with initial launch anticipated around 2015. This program itself was axed by Congress late 2008. the choice for a retrograde orbit itself indicating a SAR role. ==Launches==

Five Lacrosse spacecraft have been launched, with none currently in orbit. The Lacrosse move in orbital planes either 68° or 57° inclined. These orbital inclinations of 68° and 57°, combined with their altitude give the satellites a complete view of the Earth's surface, including the north and south poles. Lacrosse 5 appears to differ somewhat from the previous four satellites. As determined by amateur observers, there are subtle differences in its orbit, and its color is somewhat whiter than the distinct red-orange tint of the earlier ones. Most strikingly, it sometimes fades from brightness to invisibility within the space of a few seconds while still in full sunlight. (Amateur observers call this rapid fade its "disappearing trick", although it appears to be an accidental phenomenon due to the design of the craft and not a deliberate stealth feature.) ==In pop culture==

The story of the 1994 Andy Sidaris film The Dallas Connection involves a series of codes necessary to control a Lacrosse reconnaissance satellite. The plot of the 2018 Hindi movie Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran involves a Lacrosse satellite as the US intelligence eye in the sky. File:Lacrosse3 19032011 1.jpg|The USA-133 traversing Canis Minor as seen from Leiden, the Netherlands, on 19 March 2011. File:Lacrosse5 brightprofile.jpg|The Lacrosse 5 (2005-016A) brightness profile showing the sudden dip in brightness known as the "disappearance trick". == See also ==