Atlas V rocket launches NASA laser communications prototype and Space Force experiments into orbit

An Atlas V rocket lit up the predawn sky over Florida early Tuesday (Dec. 7) to launch a novel NASA laser space communications satellite into orbit alongside a host of other payloads for the U.S. Space Force. The two-stage Atlas V rocket blasted off from Space Launch Complex 41 here at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:19 a.m. EST (1019 GMT), as part of a mission called STP-3 (Space Test Program-3). The successful liftoff came more than an hour after the mission's planned launch time due to high upper level winds, and after days of delays due to a fuel leak at the launch pad. More

(Source: Space.com - Dec 7)