Atlas 5 rocket poised for Navy satellite launch

BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: February 15, 2012


With its heaviest-ever payload at nearly 15,000 pounds mounted aboard and the Centaur upper stage going for its 200th mission, the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket stands poised at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 for liftoff to deploy the U.S. Navy's Mobile User Objective System 1 satellite.

MUOS 1 will begin constructing a new space-based constellation for global mobile communications and replacing the military's aging Ultra High Frequency Follow-On spacecraft fleet.

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

Photo credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now

THE NATURE AROUND COMPLEX 41 >

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