Atlas 5 Boosts GPS Satellite Into Space
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket boosted a new Global Positioning System satellite into space Wednesday, the latest in a series of upgraded navigation beacons with improved accuracy and longevity.
The Atlas 5’s RD-180 first stage engine roared to life and throttled up at 5:38 p.m. EDT (GMT-4), pushing the 188-foot-tall booster away from launch complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with 860,000 pounds of thrust.
Burning more than a ton of liquid oxygen and highly refined kerosene per second, the rocket quickly accelerated, climbing away on a northeasterly trajectory atop a rushing torrent of fiery exhaust visible for miles around.
The first stage shut down four minutes and four seconds after liftoff and fell away, followed seconds later by ignition of the Centaur’s hydrogen-fueled second stage engine.