Maiden Atlas 5 launch a success
Posted: Wed, Aug 21, 2002, 9:46 PM ET (0146 GMT)
The inaugural flight of the Atlas 5 booster was declared a success late Wednesday when it successfully launched a communications satellite. The Atlas 5 lifted off on schedule at 6:05 pm EDT (2205 GMT) from the new Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket's payload, Eutelsat's Hot Bird 6 satellite, separated from the Atlas's Centaur upper stage 31 minutes after launch. Both the countdown and the launch itself were virtually flawless, with the launch vehicle performing exactly as expected. The launch was the first for the Atlas 5, developed as part of the US Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The other EELV booster, Boeing's Delta 4, is scheduled to fly in October.
The inaugural flight of the Atlas 5 booster was declared a success late Wednesday when it successfully launched a communications satellite. The Atlas 5 lifted off on schedule at 6:05 pm EDT (2205 GMT) from the new Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket's payload, Eutelsat's Hot Bird 6 satellite, separated from the Atlas's Centaur upper stage 31 minutes after launch. Both the countdown and the launch itself were virtually flawless, with the launch vehicle performing exactly as expected. The launch was the first for the Atlas 5, developed as part of the US Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The other EELV booster, Boeing's Delta 4, is scheduled to fly in October. | <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Friday, May 15
‘Space is hard’: Blue Origin’s satellite miss and the race to catch SpaceX
Seattle Times — 6:52 am ET (1052 GMT) ASCEND 2026 Puts “Need for Speed” at the Center of National Security Space
Aerospace America — 6:51 am ET (1051 GMT) TransAstra and U.S. Air Force Academy Sign Agreement to Advance Asteroid Mining for Dynamic Space Operations
AccessWire — 6:51 am ET (1051 GMT) U.S. Space Force reorganizes, pauses commercial accelerator program
Aerospace America — 6:50 am ET (1050 GMT) Elon Musk’s iron grip on SpaceX alarms investors
The Daily Telegraph — 6:48 am ET (1048 GMT) |
