Onboard video cameras captured critical events during the 50th Atlas 5 rocket launch, beaming back views in stunning clarity of staging and spacecraft separation.
Launching for the 50th time, an Atlas 5 rocket flew a milestone mission Wednesday in deploying a Global Positioning System satellite for the worldwide utility.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 1:21 p.m. EDT (1721 GMT) with a satellite to replenish the U.S. Air Force’s Global Positioning System navigation network.
An Atlas 5 rocket has been rolled out to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral for blastoff to deploy a replacement satellite to strengthen the Global Positioning System for U.S. military forces and the worldwide economy.
Launching new Global Positioning System navigation satellites at a rate not seen in 21 years, this year’s fourth such deployment is coming up at midday Wednesday, Oct. 29 by an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral.