June 20, 2026
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Breaking News
  • [ June 18, 2026 ] SpaceX launches intelligence-gathering satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office Falcon 9
  • [ June 17, 2026 ] Arianespace launches its heaviest payload to date with Amazon Leo flight Ariane 6
  • [ June 16, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 3 Block 2 BlueBird satellites for AST SpaceMobile Falcon 9
  • [ June 16, 2026 ] Astrobotic showcases Griffin-1 lander ahead of environmental testing in California Mission Reports
  • [ June 14, 2026 ] SpaceX launches its first Falcon 9 rocket since Nasdaq debut Falcon 9

Video: Missile alert satellite launches atop Atlas 5

January 21, 2017 Justin Ray

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, standing 189 feet tall and and weighing 720,000 pounds, unleashes 860,000 pounds of thrust from its main engine to launch the SBIRS GEO Flight 3 early-warning satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Launch preparations

See earlier SBIRS GEO Flight 3 coverage.

Our Atlas archive.

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Related Articles

Falcon 9

Live coverage: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket takes off from Florida, lands on ship

June 23, 2017 Stephen Clark

One of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket boosters made its second trip into space Friday, lofting a Bulgarian television broadcasting satellite from launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, then landing on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean. Liftoff occurred at 3:10 p.m. EDT (1910 GMT).

Falcon 9

After delays, Falcon 9 rocket back on launch pad with Starlink satellites

August 6, 2020 Stephen Clark

After a six-week delay for undisclosed reasons, SpaceX raised a Falcon 9 vertical on its launch pad Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for another try early Friday to send into orbit the company’s next batch of Starlink Internet relay stations and a pair of commercial BlackSky Earth-imaging microsatellites.

News

Orion capsule put under pressure in Florida

May 15, 2016 Stephen Clark

The skeleton of NASA’s next Orion capsule, set for launch in late 2018 on a test flight to lunar orbit without astronauts, has passed a pressurization test at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

News Headlines

  • SpaceX launches intelligence-gathering satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office
    June 18, 2026
  • Arianespace launches its heaviest payload to date with Amazon Leo flight
    June 17, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 3 Block 2 BlueBird satellites for AST SpaceMobile
    June 16, 2026
  • Astrobotic showcases Griffin-1 lander ahead of environmental testing in California
    June 16, 2026
  • SpaceX launches its first Falcon 9 rocket since Nasdaq debut
    June 14, 2026
  • SpaceX launches Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral as stock trades on the Nasdaq for first time
    June 12, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg
    June 11, 2026
  • NASA chief defends selection of all-male Artemis 3 crew
    June 10, 2026
  • NASA names four-man crew to Artemis 3 mission
    June 9, 2026
  • Preview: NASA to unveil Artemis 3 crew, provide updates on mission
    June 9, 2026
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