NROL-7 Elwood Mission Patch

NROL-7 mission was nicknamed "Elwood", launched on August 12, 1998. The launch happened in Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida using the Titan IV/Centaur rocket. It was planned to be positioned in Geosynchronous orbit (GSO). The design is based on Mercury. Its function is as Signals intelligence (SIGINT) or ELINT , intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether communications between people or from electronic signals not directly used in communication. Unfortunately the rocket self-destructed 40 seconds into launch due to guidance problem.