The Atlas V launched from Cape Canaveral March 8 at 10:10 p.m. Photo courtesy United Launch Alliance

50th Successful Launch for the
Space and Missile Systems Center

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. (3/9/06)—A major milestone for both The Aerospace Corporation and the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center was reached Thursday, March 8, when the 50th successful consecutive operational Department of Defense launch took place from Cape Canaveral. The Atlas V AV013, carrying a payload of six Space Test Program satellites, achieved liftoff from Space Launch Complex 41 at 10:10 p.m. EST.

All spacecraft were successfully deployed in their proper orbits. Ray Johnson, vice president of Space Launch Operations at The Aerospace Corporation, announced his congratulations to “the entire Aerospace team on this very successful milestone launch.”

The launch was also marked by other notable firsts. It was the first Defense Department mission to be launched on an Atlas V rocket, one of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles, or EELVs, which  provide military, civil and commercial users a significantly more flexible, less costly launch capability. The launch was also the first Atlas V launch by United Launch Alliance, the joint venture by The Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin responsible for launching EELVs

The EELV program comprises two families of rockets—the Atlas V and the Delta IV—which provide modularity to accommodate light, medium, and heavy payloads for all users. The first EELV launch took place in 2003.

The Aerospace Corporation, based in El Segundo, Calif., is an independent, nonprofit company that provides objective technical analyses and assessments for national security space programs and selected civil and commercial space programs in the national interest.

Contact Dave Jonta, 310-336-5041, david.l.jonta@aero.org