U.S. military satellite launched to fortify against missile attacks

A billion-dollar U.S. military satellite rode a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket into orbit Friday night from Cape Canaveral, joining a network of space sentinels warning of threatening missile launches from North Korea, or any other place on the globe. The 189-foot-tall Atlas 5 rocket ignited its RD-180 main engine and a single Aerojet Rocketdyne strap-on solid rocket booster at 7:48 p.m. EST Friday (0048 GMT Saturday). The launcher soared eastward from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad to kick off the 75th flight of ULA’s workhorse Atlas 5. More

(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 20)