'Spy' satellite aloft

Experts say a satellite launched for the US Government will relay data such as imagery collected by other spy satellites to ground stations for use by intelligence experts.

International Launch Services - a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Russian companies Khrunichev and Energia - said it successfully launched a "national security payload" on Thursday for the National Reconnaissance Office, a US intelligence agency that designs, builds and maintains spy satellites.

One expert, Craig Covault, senior editor at Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine, said the launch had been planned for months and was not specifically related to the US military action in Afghanistan