US launches 'anti-terror' satellite http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1582000/1582673.stmTh... United States has launched a satellite which intelligence analystssay will probably be used to gather information in the global campaignagainst terrorism.The Titan IV rocket was launched from Vandenberg airforce base inCalifornia on behalf of the US National Reconnaissance Office, asecretive agency specialising in providing information for the CIA andthe National Security Agency.The rocket is believed to have been carrying a top secret KH-11 spysatellite - that could monitor Afghanistan ahead of an expected militarystrike.The US Air Force refused to comment on the payload, but the NRO buildsand operates America's spy satellites and specialises in gatheringpictures and electronic data, such as telephone conversations on theground.Pin-point accuracyExperts from Aviation Week and Space Technology Magazine said thesatellite was likely to be equipped with a digital camera able to pickout objects as small as 10 cm (4 inches) across on the ground.Orbiting hundreds of miles above the earth the 15 tonne KH-11 is capableof tracking small groups of people walking on the ground as well asvehicle and weapons movements.It can monitor conversations and even spot campfires at night usinginfrared technology.Identifying the enemyAccording to Aviation Magazine such information could be used to monitorthe movements of Taleban groups and refugees to help allied forcesseparate potentially hostile groups from "non-combatants".The United States is believed to have spy satellites over Afghanistanalready as US forces continue to build up nearby ahead of expectedmilitary strikes.Before 1996 the NRO did not publicly disclose the launches of itssatellites.