MUOS 1 hoisted atop its Atlas launcher

BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: February 7, 2012


The U.S. Navy's first Mobile User Objective System satellite, dubbed MUOS 1, is hoisted into the open doorway at the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 for attachment atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

The mobile communications spacecraft is tucked inside the bullet-shaped nose cone that protects the satellite during ascent through Earth's atmosphere and then gets jettisoned from the rocket at T+plus 3 minutes and 22 seconds.

See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.

Photo credit: United Launch Alliance

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