After building up thrust on the main engine, the Atlas 5 sent the command to light four Northrop Grumman strap-on solid rocket boosters to power the launcher off pad 41 with 2.3 million pounds of thrust. The rocket’s propellant tanks were pressurized, and the RD-180 engine ignited at T-minus 1 second. Both weather concerns cleared in time for the countdown to resume before the end of the two-hour launch window. The launch team also discussed an issue with upper level winds over the spaceport.
![military countdowns military countdowns](https://i.etsystatic.com/17035319/r/il/fdb052/2421594534/il_794xN.2421594534_jg6k.jpg)
ULA’s launch team held the countdown more than an hour Friday to wait for an electrically charged anvil cloud over the launch pad to dissipate. Two built-in holds occurred in the countdown, one at T-minus 2 hours and another at T-minus 4 minutes, before the final four-minute terminal countdown sequence to prepare the Atlas 5 rocket liftoff. The Centaur upper stage’s Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engine burns the hydrogen and oxygen propellant mix, and the Atlas first stage consumes liquid oxygen with 25,000 gallons room-temperature kerosene fuel, which was loaded into the rocket Wednesday, soon after ULA ground crews rolled the Atlas 5 the launch pad from the nearby Vertical Integration Facility. Nearly 66,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen were loaded into the two-stage Atlas 5 rocket. ULA teams turned on the Atlas 5 flight computer, completed checks of the rocket’s guidance system, and then configured the vehicle for the start of cryogenic tanking around 4 p.m. Credit: United Launch Allianceįollowing a similar timeline as Thursday’s launch attempt, the countdown Friday began at 10:40 a.m. ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket on the launch pad before the USSF 12 mission.
![military countdowns military countdowns](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/96/d5/b4/96d5b4a550173cb8f649f956205ee954.jpg)
It hosts multiple payloads, experiments and prototypes, but details about their missions are classified.Ī Space Force spokesperson told Spaceflight Now the entire USSF 12 mission, including the payloads and launch services, cost about $1.1 billion. A secondary payload, called the USSF 12 Ring, is positioned below the WFOV spacecraft for launch. The WFOV spacecraft will ride to space in the upper portion of the Atlas 5 rocket’s payload compartment. One of the payloads on the mission is the Space Force’s Wide Field Of View, or WFOV, Testbed satellite to demonstrate a new infrared sensor capable of detecting and tracking missile launches, providing early warning of a potential attack on the United States or allied nations. ULA, a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, is developing the next-generation Vulcan Centaur rocket to replace the Atlas and Delta rocket families.
![military countdowns military countdowns](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/military-background-coming-soon-countdown-timer-creative-camouflage-digit-samples-vector-illustration-71511439.jpg)
It is one of 23 Atlas 5s remaining in ULA’s inventory before the rocket is retired. The mission is the fourth Atlas 5 flight of the year, and the 94th launch of an Atlas 5 rocket overall. The mission, designated USSF-12, was set to lift off Thursday, but the threat of lightning around the spaceport caused officials to scrub the launch attempt. Teams drained the Atlas 5 of cryogenic propellants overnight and prepared for another countdown Friday. Space Force on a six-hour climb toward geosynchronous orbit. EDT (2315 GMT) Friday, carrying two experimental satellites for the U.S.
![military countdowns military countdowns](https://calendargraphicdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/deployment-countdown-calendar-deployment-countdown.jpg)
Dodging stormy weather in Central Florida, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 7:15 p.m.