Atlas 5 rocket launches two Space Force satellites for tests of advanced technology

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket boosted two Space Force satellites into orbit Tuesday in a billion-dollar mission featuring a variety of high-technology payloads, including nuclear detonation detectors and a NASA high-speed laser communications system.

Also on board was a joint NASA-U.S. Naval Research Laboratory ultraviolet telescope to help scientists learn how to predict solar storms that release torrents of charged particles that can damage spacecraft electronics and expose astronauts to high levels of radiation.

Powered by a Russian RD-180 first stage engine and five strap-on solid-propellant boosters, the Atlas 5 roared to life at 5:17 a.m. EST and vaulted away from pad 409 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station atop a brilliant jet of flaming exhaust.