>ULA Delta IV Heavy rocket to launch NROL-44 mission
"NROL-44 is one and is being carried for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the US Government agency responsible for operating America’s fleet of spy satellites. Although details of NRO spacecraft are officially classified, many details about previous missions have slipped into the public domain. From these, coupled with what has been revealed about NROL-44, a fairly clear picture of the satellite’s likely identity and role can be extrapolated.
The NRO operates satellites that fill a variety of roles – including optical and radar imaging of the Earth’s surface, detection and tracking of ships on the high seas and interception of radio signals and communications. The two types of satellites which require the largest rockets are a series of optical imaging satellites – known as Crystal – and a series of large signals intelligence (ELINT) satellites known as Orion. Crystal satellites typically operate in near-polar sun-synchronous orbits, while Orions operate in an equatorial geostationary orbit.
Despite the top-secret nature of the mission, Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) and Mariners (NOTMARs) must be published before every rocket launch. These include an immediate hazard area around Cape Canaveral, as well as areas downrange where debris may fall as the rocket sheds its lower stages and payload fairing on the way uphill. These hazard areas show that Delta IV Heavy will be heading in an easterly direction out over the Atlantic Ocean – and is therefore almost certainly heading to a geostationary orbit."
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/08/ula-nrol-44-delta-iv-heavy/