VIDEO SPECIAL: Atlas V Rocket Lights Up Brevard
By Space Coast Daily // July 20, 2013
U.S. Navy MUOS-2 satellite
BREVARD COUNTY • CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA – A U.S. Navy’s MUOS-2 satellite blasted off successfully this morning at 9 a.m. from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
The 44-minute launch window opened at 8:48 a.m., with lift-off at 9 a.m.
MUOS-2 is the second in a series of five planned Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites, part of a six billion dollar program to replace the UHF Follow-On (UFO) satellites currently used by the US Navy.
The U.S. Navy Mobile User Objective System-2 (MUOS-2) weighs nearly 15,000 pounds and is the heaviest payload ever for an Atlas V. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the MUOS program. MUOS are among the heaviest unclassified spacecraft ever placed into geosynchronous orbit.
100 PERCENT SUCESS
Atlas V vehicles have achieved 100 percent mission success in launches from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Space Launch Complex-3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Built modularly with flight-proven elements, Atlas V has followed a carefully executed program of incremental improvements resulting in 100 percent mission success.
Providing our customers maximum flexibility, capability and reliability has been the foundation of the Atlas program, which has logged nearly 600 launches to date.
