Video: Liftoff of Atlas 5 with X-37B on program’s fourth flight

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral with a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office at 5:32 p.m. EST (2232 GMT) Friday. The launcher debuted new Northrop Grumman-built solid rocket boosters.

Orbital ATK’s Minotaur-C rocket delivered 10 satellites to orbit Oct. 31 after liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, marking the solid-fueled rocket’s return to flight — with a new name and upgrades — after a six-year hiatus.

The U.S. Space Force announced Tuesday that it awarded $384 million in contracts to United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, giving each company two missions to launch military satellites in 2023.