The first Atlas 3 rocket lifts off from pad 36B at Cape Canaveral last May. Photo: Lockheed Martin/ILS

Lockheed Martin's Atlas 3 rocket will be used to loft the U.S. Navy's eleventh satellite for the UHF Follow-On communications network, officials announced Monday.

Scheduled for blastoff in 2003 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the commercial mission will be managed under the auspices of International Launch Services.

The UHF F-11 spacecraft is being built by Boeing Satellite Systems just like the previous ten.

The orbiting fleet operates in geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above the planet to relay spy satellite photos, intelligence reports and strike orders to U.S. troops around the world.

UHF F-11 will offer "battlefield-to-battlefield" connections using an ultra high frequency (UHF) payload, as well as more advanced connectivity through an on-board extremely high frequency, or EHF, antenna. It will also feature enhanced anti-jam telemetry.

The new craft will be used to sustain the UHF fleet through 2007 when the next generation of communications satellites will begin taking over.

Boeing is under contract to the Navy to manufacture and deliver the new satellite into space for around $200 million.

"Atlas has carried all 10 previous UFO satellites throughout the 1990s, so the F-11 launch will be reunion of a great and experienced team," said ILS President Mark J. Albrecht. "We look forward to continuing our relationship with the Navy and satellite manufacturing group."

Artist's concept of a UHF spacecraft in Earth orbit. Photo: Boeing

Albrecht noted that the Atlas 3 will be the fourth variant of the Atlas family to carry a UHF satellite for the Navy.

This is the fifth launch order awarded to ILS this year, and the second for the Atlas 3.

Formed in 1995 in a cooperative endeavor between Lockheed Martin and Russian aerospace firms Khrunichev and Energia to globally market Atlas and Proton rockets, ILS currently holds a backlog of 40 confirmed missions. The launches will fly on Atlas 2, 3 and 5 vehicles and Russian Proton K and M rockets. In addition, there are seven more launches of Atlas 5 rockets booked for U.S. Air Force under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program.

The Atlas 3 has flown once -- the successful debut last May. It offers increased lift capability to handle spacecraft up to nearly 5 tons. The main distinction of the Atlas 3 is its Russian-made RD-180 engine that powers the vehicle for the first minutes of flight.