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 The 20-story-tall rocket, manufactured and flown by United Launch
Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co,
lifted off at 8:04 p.m. EST, the first of 13 missions the company
plans for this year.
Perched on top of the rocket was the third spacecraft for the U.S.
Navy’s $7.3 billion Mobile User Objective System, or MUOS, network,
which is intended to provide 3G-like cellular technology to
vehicles, ships, submarines, aircraft and troops on the move.
"MUOS is a game-changer in communications for our warfighters,” Iris
Bombelyn of satellite manufacturer Lockheed Martin said in a
statement before launch.
 The planned five-satellite system is designed for high-fidelity,
secure voice conversations, networked conference calls and data
relay services, including video, worldwide.
With two satellites already in orbit, a third on its way and two
more scheduled for launch, MUOS will supplement and eventually
replace the Navy’s Ultra High Frequency Follow-On satellite system
to provide 10 times more capacity than the current network, said Joe
Kan, the Navy’s MUOS program manager.
“MUOS is going to bring a lot of capability,” Kan, a Navy captain,
told reporters in a conference call before launch. “It’s a very
pervasive system, used by all the services – Army, Navy, Air Force,
Marines, Coast Guard and other partners.”
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Topping the scales at nearly 15,000 pounds (6,804 kg), the MUOS
satellite needed the heaviest-lift Atlas rocket, which was outfitted
with five strap-on solid rocket motors built by GenCorp Inc's
Aerojet Rocketdyne.
The fourth MUOS launch is planned for later this year and the fifth,
which will serve as an on-orbit spare, is due to fly in 2016, the
Navy said.
(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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