Air Force Lofts Atlas Rocket With 3 Science Satellites
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VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — An Atlas-E rocket roared toward space today, carrying three small scientific satellites on a $22-million mission aimed at improving military communications and aiding navigation.
The 96-foot rocket lifted off the pad at Space Launch Complex-3 at 8 a.m., said Maj. Tom Worsdale, an Air Force spokesman at this sprawling coastal military base 140 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
“It looked excellent,” he said. “It’s the smoothest launch I’ve seen in the year I’ve been here. Everything went perfect.”
Worsdale said the rocket flew south over the Pacific.
The three satellites, which contain four experiments, were propelled into a 460-mile polar orbit by the Atlas, which was topped by a Scout-Altair upper-stage booster.
The mission is named P87-2 Stacksat. The Air Force has not explained the meaning of P87-2, but Stacksat means that the satellites were stacked atop the rocket for launch.
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