Rocket launch sends communications satellite into space

A heavyweight Navy communications satellite was boosted into space by a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket Friday, the second in a series of five relay stations that will act like orbital cell phone towers in a globe-spanning $5 billion network. The second Mobile User Objective System satellite -- MUOS-2 -- tipped the scales at nearly 15,000 pounds, making it one of the heaviest payloads ever launched atop an Atlas 5, requiring five solid-fuel strap-on boosters to generate the required lift. More

(Source: CBS News - Jul 21)