Strasbourg, May 19, 2021 -- United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully launches fifth Space-Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (SBIRS GEO) satellite for the U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC). The satellite was launched on Atlas V rocket on May 18 at 1:37 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
This was the 87th launch of the Atlas V rocket and the 72nd Atlas V to launch from Space Launch Complex-41 in Florida. To date, ULA has launched 144 times with 100 percent mission success.
The Atlas booster for this mission was powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine. Aerojet Rocketdyne provided the RL10C-1-1 engine for the Centaur upper stage and the two AJ-60A solid rocket boosters.
ULA’s next launch is the Space Test Program (STP)-3 mission for the U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center, planned for June 23, 2021, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.