Video: EchoStar 19 launches to space atop Atlas 5 rocket

The U.S. Air Force’s fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency spacecraft launched Wednesday from Cape Canaveral on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, expanding the reach of the military’s most secure, jam-resistant satellite communications network.

The U.S. military said this week it plans to award rideshare small satellite launch contracts to six U.S. companies using funds appropriated to help stabilize the defense industrial base amid the coronavirus pandemic.

SpaceX test-fired a Falcon Heavy rocket Wednesday night at the Kennedy Space Center in preparation for launch June 24 with a stack of weather observation and technology demonstration satellites.