Alabama rocket builder United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully completed the first national security space mission for the U.S. Space Force last month.
ULA released footage of the launch showing stunning views of the Earth and space from a camera perched atop the rocket.
From Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, ULA’s Atlas V rocket lifted off with the sixth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-6) satellite as its payload. The latest in U.S. Air Force satellite technology, AEHF-6 provides high-tech global communications for American warfighters.
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The specially configured Atlas V was assembled at ULA’s North Alabama manufacturing plant. Located in Decatur, the 1.6 million square-foot plant is the largest facility of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.
In a pre-launch message, ULA president and CEO Tory Bruno emphasized the significance of national security space launches for his company.
“At ULA we care a lot about these missions, we understand them, we know how important they are and we are all about their mission success,” he remarked.
The mission marked ULA’s 138th launch while enjoying a 100% success rate.
Developed by Lockheed-Martin, AEHF-6 will allow the Air Force to improve “global, survivable, protected communications capabilities for strategic command and tactical warfighters.”
Aerojet Rocketdyne manufactured five solid rocket boosters for this Atlas V and provided more than 2.5 million pounds of thrust.
Last week technicians in Cape Canaveral, Florida began assembling the Alabama-built Atlas V rocket which will fly the U.S. Space Force-7 mission in May.
Another #AtlasV launch campaign begins with Launch Vehicle on Stand (LVOS) day! Today at Cape Canaveral, technicians will start assembling the #AtlasV 501 rocket that will launch the United States Space Force-7 (#USSF7) mission. Watch for tweets throughout the day! pic.twitter.com/3fYxOibuiu
— ULA (@ulalaunch) April 23, 2020
Tim Howe is an owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia
