After multiple delays, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Friday, Jan. 20, at 7:42 p.m. E.T. Aboard the rocket is US Air Force’s third Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) satellite. The SBIRS is designed to detect missile launches and give advance warning to the US Air Force.
The Atlas V rocket launch has been delayed three times on Thursday, the last due to an aircraft detected near the area. The rescheduled rocket launch was predicted to have 70 percent chance of favorable weather. Friday’s countdown was reported to be smooth which resulted in an on-time launch.
The $1.2 billion project is set to replace the Defense Support Program of the US Air Force which dates back from the 70’s. The SBIRS, was dropped off in orbit, more than 22,000 miles above the equator. With that height it can scan sections of the planet while focusing simultaneously on smaller areas.
“Hundreds of launchers and missiles are currently in range of our deployed forces,” Col. Dennis Bythewood, director of the Remote Sensing Systems Directorate at Los Angeles Air Force Base said according to USA Today. A US official added that the SBIRS is mainly used for intelligence. The specific detection capabilities of the system are classified but the Pentagon it would be used to help track the positions of ISIS forces in Iraq.
The launch was the first ULA mission of the year and the second successful US launch after the SpaceX Falcon 9 lift-off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Saturday, Jan. 14. Atlas is scheduled for its next mission on Feb. 9 for an Atlas V 401 fly from Vandenberg. Its mission is to deploy two naval intelligence satellites into low Earth orbit.
A fourth SBIRS satellite is also scheduled to be launched via Atlas V rocket in November according to NASASpaceFlight.com. A fifth and sixth satellite is currently in production. On the other hand, SpaceX returns to launch from Cape Canaveral on Florida in Jan. 26.
