Atlas 5 rocket Blast Off on Historic 600th launch

October 18, 2009 - Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Adding to the Atlas rocket programs accomplished five decade legacy, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V successfully launched the U.S. Air Forces Defense Meteorological Satellite Program F18 (DMSP F18) mission from Space Launch Complex-3 here at 9:12 a.m. PDT, today. The DMSP F18 spacecraft was built for the Air Force by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Sunnyvale, Calif.
This mission marked the 600th launch of an Atlas vehicle, carrying on a proud tradition that began with the first Atlas A rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., in 1957. For the Atlas V, todays success was the 18th for the program, with a 100 percent mission success rate. The inaugural launch for the latest Atlas V configuration occurred from CCAFS on Aug. 21, 2002.
This mission, designated AV-017, was launched aboard an Atlas V 401 configuration using the Common Core Booster powered by the RD-180 engine. The 17 previous Atlas V launches included three missions each for the Air Force, NASA, and NRO along with eight for commercial customers.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• ULA
• atlas
• rocket
• blast
• off
• launch
• 600th
• historic
• dmsp-f18
• dmsp
• f18
• vandenberg
• air
• force
• base
• 401

[MrStefman87]

SHOOOOOOOOMMM