In the November 2006 edition of High Frontier, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Office of Space Launch (OSL) authored an article titled 'The Power of Partnership -- Assuring Access to Space.' That article described the decades old collaboration between the Air Force and the NRO that enabled the United States to place critical national security satellites safely, efficiently, and accurately into space. This partnership has allowed the Air Force and the NRO to leverage both organizations' strengths without duplication and create an unparalleled focus on mission success. The success of this partnership continues into the evolved expendable launch vehicle (EELV) era with all 13 Air Force and NRO Delta IV and Atlas V missions launched successfully to date. The Air Force and NRO continue to strengthen their partnership by bringing to bear the unique capabilities of each organization. The remainder of this article will address the NRO's 'other' space launch partner -- the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Indeed, the Air Force, NRO, and NASA have been working together to access space since the late 1970s when the Space Shuttle was designated the primary means of deploying U.S. government payloads into space. Exceptionally close coordination was the order of the day as Air Force, NRO, and NASA personnel worked together in planning the integration and deployment of very complex spacecraft. This spirit of cooperation has remained strong even after the transition back to expendable launch vehicles following the loss of space shuttle Challenger in 1986. Perhaps nowhere was this cooperation more evident than in the launch campaign for NRO Launch-24 (NROL-24) in December 2007 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. NROL-24 was scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41) on 10 December. Also progressing toward launch during this time was Space Shuttle Atlantis carrying the European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory.