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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully sent an Atlas V rocket into space today (November 13), following a series of delays due to hardware problems and bad weather at the launch site.
The 206-foot (63-meter) high rocket took off from Space Launch Complex 41 here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 5:32 PM EST (2232 GMT), carrying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, which operates the US government’s fleet of spy satellites.
Named NROL-101, the mission marks the fifth ULA launch so far this year; the company launched various other payloads for the military and NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) was stingy with payload details, typical of these types of missions, but confirmed that the payload was designed and built by the NRO.
Video: Blastoff! The US spy satellite is launched on top of the Atlas V rocket.
Related: Photos and drawings of declassified US spy satellites (gallery)
Initially scheduled for launch on November 3, the mission was delayed for 24 hours when the team noticed a problem with the vehicle’s environmental control system. An exchange of hardware was ordered and crews worked to replace a damaged environmental control system duct, which supplies air conditioning to the rocket’s payload.
The rocket was returned to the platform for another launch attempt. As the countdown progressed, teams noticed an issue with the vehicle’s fuel system, which prevented the rocket from being loaded with super cold oxygen, one of its propellants. The countdown was interrupted and the launch was again postponed.
The most recent delay came from mother nature in the form of tropical storm Eta, which strengthened into a hurricane on Monday (Nov. 9) and threatened to bring rain and wind to Florida as the storm swept across the state. Fortunately, Eta was short-lived, allowing weather conditions in Cape to improve dramatically on Friday.
Weather forecasts have predicted a 90% chance of favorable conditions for takeoff on Friday night, with cumulus clouds being the only cause for concern.
Today’s launch marked the 29th mission for the NRO and the 17th mission of its kind launched on an Atlas V. (the other 12 launches on the company’s Delta IV rockets). The NROL-101 mission marked the 86th flight of an Atlas V since the rocket’s 2002 debut.
The NRO uses these “eyes in the sky” to provide optical and radar images of the Earth from space, as well as to send and intercept secure communications to various intelligence agencies.
As usual with this type of mission, the NRO didn’t reveal many details about this launch or its payload. However, warning notices issued to pilots and boaters and an animation of the ULA mission profile suggest that the rocket is flying on a northeastern route that will eventually put it in a high-tilt orbit with smooth views of the rocket. northern hemisphere.
ULA has another government payload sitting on a nearby pad. A Delta IV Heavy is expected to lift the NROL-44 payload into orbit this year. That mission, which was grounded due to hardware problems at the pad, was originally scheduled to take off in August, but has been postponed indefinitely.
Related: Pentagon chooses SpaceX, ULA to launch national security missions
The two-stage Atlas V was launched on the pad from the nearby integration facility for its fourth launch attempt on Thursday afternoon (November 12). Once there, the crews began preparing the rocket for its flight.
Atlas V is powered by a mixture of liquid oxygen and RP-1, a refined form of kerosene used for space flights, and liquid hydrogen in its upper stage, which was loaded into the rocket on Friday afternoon. The vehicle flew in the “531” configuration, with three solid rocket engines, a payload fairing of 17.7 feet (5.4 m) in diameter, marking the first NRO mission to use this variant.
It was the fourth time ever that an Atlas V has flown in the 531 configuration and the first mission to use the newly upgraded solid rocket engines. Each of the three previous flights in this version carried Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) communications satellites for the US military.
In the photos: Atlas V launches the AEHF-6 military satellite for the US Space Force
The rocket’s strap-on boosters, called GEM 63, are manufactured by Northrop Grumman and were made to replace previous models made by Aerojet Rocketdyne. Each of the 20m-long rocket engines offers 373,800 pounds of extra thrust. According to ULA, the GEM 63s are easier to manage and cost less than previous iterations.
Once ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket is flying, it will be powered by a more robust version of the solid rocket engines, called the GEM 63XL. By testing a smaller version on the Atlas V, the missile manufacturer plans to thoroughly test the capabilities of the GEM before fixing one on a Vulcan.
Preparations for the launch of NROL-101 began a few months ago, on September 11, when teams began stacking the Atlas V rocket inside the integration facility adjacent to the platform. ULA teams started by lifting the first stage on the Atlas mobile launch pad, then added the vehicle’s trio of solid rocket motors and finally the upper stage. The payload was installed on October 26.
Today’s launch was the first of a double header planned this weekend as SpaceX prepares to launch its next crew mission to the International Space Station. On Saturday evening (November 14), a Falcon 9 rocket will depart from Pad 39A of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, bringing a crew of four astronauts with it.
If all goes as planned, Japan’s Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Soichi Noguchi will board an 8.5-hour flight to the ISS. The crew will remain on the station for six months, kicking off the first long-duration mission to be launched from Florida. Takeoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST (0049 GMT Nov 15) and the launch will be streamed live on Space.com.
Follow Amy Thompson on Twitter @astrogingersnap. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
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