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The Atlas V rocket lit up the sky over Florida in the predawn hours on Tuesday to carry a NASA laser space communications satellite into space.
The Atlas V rocket blasted off from Space Launch Complex 41 here at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:19 a.m. As part of a mission called STP-3. The launch was delayed for days due to a fuel leak at the launch pad and high winds, but the liftoff came more than an hour after the planned launch time.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V flew into the sky with the help of five rocket boosters. The view of the rocket was amazing as it raced through the atmosphere.
The history of rockets.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's Laser Communication Relay Demonstration instrument is about to launch.
The Atlas V was launched in the 552 configuration. This means that the rocket was powered by five strap-on solid rocket motors, a single-engine Centaur upper stage, and its payload is tucked inside a 16.4-foot-wide (5 m) fairing.
NASA's Mars rovers and a host of satellites are among the things that have been carried on a dozen times by this version of the Atlas V.
The 90th flight of an Atlas V rocket was on Tuesday. The company is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The Atlas family rocket has flown 668 times since its debut in the 1950s.
There are two satellites tucked inside of the fairing, each containing a host of technological prototypes and experiments that will be tested in space. The Space Test Program is dedicated to overseeing the Department of Defense's space-related activities and most of the payloads onboard are classified. The LDPE-1 is a long-term launch vehicle that can host up to three years' worth of cargo.
We know a few details about the other payloads on board, including a novel laser communication payload for NASA.
NASA plans to return to the moon in the next few years and will use the experimental satellite to transmit data across space. The agency uses communications methods that rely on radio frequencies, but the lasers are more efficient.
The NASA-U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Ultraviolet Spectro-Coronagraph mission is part of the experiment.
An artist's impression of NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration mission communicating data from the International Space Station to Earth. Dave Ryan is from NASA.
Glenn Jackson, NASA's project manager for the LCRD mission, said that it was a gamechanger for exploration and science. That's a huge change for those people who are planning to go to the moon and explore Mars.
A new type of space-based propulsion system that will be tested in space is also on board.
The Atlas V is scheduled to set an endurance record on Tuesday, so the flight was expected to be a test. The two satellites will be deposited into the ocean.
The Atlas V's Centaur upper stage will take six-and-a-half hours to reach the target.
NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration instrument is carried by the Department of Defense. The image is from NASA.
The Atlas V is the only rocket that can do this, and it requires three burns and precise navigation, according to Gary Wentz, ULA's vice president of government and commercial programs. This is the longest mission to date, lasting seven hours and 10 minutes.
Satellites that are heading to a similar location are usually dropped into an oval-shaped transfer orbit and flown to their final location. The Atlas V and its upper stage will set a record today as they push the limits of their capability.
The rocket's first stage will provide the majority of the thrust, with the five boosters providing the rest. The Atlas will take 2.6 million pounds of thrust to get off the pad.
The Atlas V rocket will be upgraded with three new features, including an in-flight power system and enhanced gps navigation system, which will be tested in advance of flying on the upcoming Vulcan Centaur rocket. The Atlas V will be replaced by the next-generation launcher, which is scheduled to begin flying sometime next year.
ULA hopes that by testing these new features on Atlas, they will be able to see how they perform in-flight and have a better understanding of the hardware before it launches on a brand new rocket.
An artist's illustration of the LDPE-1 long-duration payload experiment platform was launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration satellite. The image is from the United Launch Alliance.
On Thursday night, the company's 27th rocket launch of the year took place, and it delivered 50 satellites to space, including 48 of the company's own Starlink internet satellites.
It is the first of two early morning launches here on the Space Coast. Just 48 hours after the Atlas V's launch, another rocket will take to the skies, this time carrying a space observatory for NASA.
That mission will launch at 1 a.m. Astronomers will be able to better understand the polarization of light and X-rays from black holes on Thursday.
The International Space Station will be home to two Japanese space tourists, Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano, as well as Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. The mission will leave the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Wednesday.
The New Shepard NS-19 space tourism mission will fly six people, including Good Morning America host Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, on a short trip to space. Blue Origin's launch site is near Van Horn, Texas.
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