Starliner lifts off from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 41.
Starliner takes off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as spectators watch from the Visitor Complex.
A rare spectacle will unfold on the Space Coast Tuesday morning. A 200-foot-tall Atlas V rocket will blast off from the launch pad on a secret Space Force mission.
There has only been one other Atlas V launch this year and that was for the Boeing Starliner crewed flight test.
Scheduled to lift off at 6:45 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 30, United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket will carry the U.S. Space Force’s USSF-51 mission from Launch Complex 41, located south of Kennedy Space Center.
As of Friday morning, weather conditions for Tuesday’s launch were forecast to be favorable with only a 20 percent chance that conditions would prevent the launch.
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At liftoff, the rocket’s five solid rocket boosters, mounted around the rocket’s core, will initially help propel it off the launch pad and forward. This extra power helps produce a light show.
As it makes its final flights before retirement, this working rocket is on its final national security mission. Marking the 58th launch of the Atlas V for national security, the USSF-51 mission will carry a top-secret payload for the United States Space Force Systems Command. Since the mission is for national security, there are no details on the payload or destination.
However, USSF-51 marks the 100th launch mission for United Launch Alliance’s rocket fleet, a number that is expected to increase once the company begins flying its Vulcan rocket. The Vulcan rocket will replace both the Atlas V and the now-retired Delta IV.
Workhorse Atlas V receives a proper mission patch for a historical mission
In keeping with the tradition of using animals as mascots for these top secret missions, this mission patch features the blue outline of a horse behind an Atlas V rocket. The design stands out against a starry background.
This design is present on the payload fairings, which protect and cover the payload atop the rocket, as well as on the mission patch.
Be sure to follow the FLORIDA TODAY space team for the latest news from Cape Canaveral.
Brooke Edwards is a space reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.
