U.S. Military Launches New Missile Warning Satellite Into Space

A new U.S. military satellite launched into orbit Saturday (May 7) on a mission to enhance the country's missile defense and detection capabilities. The satellite blasted off atop an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket from a seaside pad here at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 2:10 p.m. EDT (1810 GMT). The mission had been delayed one day due to bad weather. The Atlas 5 rocket carried the first satellite in the U.S. military's planned four-satellite Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS). The satellites, the first of which is called GEO-1, will replace the military's Defense Support Program satellites that are currently in orbit. More

(Source: Space.com - May 8)