Early this morning a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral in a gorgeous pre-dawn launch, sending the third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-3) satellite for the United States Air Force to orbit. The rocket lifted off from Launch Complex-41 at 4:10 am EDT (08:10 UTC) on Wednesday, September 18, 2013. Thanks to John O’Connor from nasatech.net for sharing his beautiful launch images with Universe Today.
This launch leads the way for a second launch today: the historic Orbital Sciences Antares commercial rocket carrying the first fully functional Cygnus commercial resupply vehicle to orbit from NASA’s Wallops Island Facility on a demonstration mission bound for the International Space Station.
The AEHF-3 will provide a state-of-the-art communications system for the US military and Department of Defense.
See more launches images below:
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