An unusual sight will be coming to the Space Coast on Tuesday morning: A 196-foot-tall Atlas V rocket will lift off from the launch pad. Space Force’s secret mission.
Boeing has had just one Atlas V launch this year. Starliner manned flight test.
Scheduled to lift off at 6:45 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 30, the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket will carry the U.S. Space Command’s USSF-51 mission from Launch Complex 41, south of Kennedy Space Center.
As of Friday morning, weather was forecast to be favorable for Tuesday’s launch, with only a 20 percent chance of conditions preventing launch.
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Once the launch occurs, five solid rocket boosters mounted around the rocket’s core rocket will help lift off from the launch pad and into orbit, and this added power will make for a bright display.
During its final flight before retirement, the workhorse rocket is flying its final national security payload mission. Mission USSF-51, the 58th national security launch of the Atlas V, will carry a top-secret payload for the U.S. Space Force Systems Command. Because this mission is for national security purposes, no details about the payload or destination are available.
But USSF-51 marked the 100th mission total for which United Launch Alliance has provided launch services across its fleet of rockets, a figure that’s set to grow once the company begins launching its Vulcan rocket, which will replace both the Atlas V and the now-retired Delta IV.
Atlas V flagship aircraft receives mission patch befitting milestone mission
Staying true to the tradition of using animals as mascots for these top-secret missions, the mission patch features the outline of a blue horse behind an Atlas V rocket. The design is set against a starry sky background.
This design is used for the payload fairing and mission patch that protects and covers the payload on top of the rocket.
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Brooke Edwards is Florida Today’s space reporter. She can be reached at [email protected] or for X: Brook of Stars.
