Atlas 5 launches
CAPE CANAVERAL (AP) – An Atlas 5 rocket has lifted off from Florida carrying a highly classified military satellite.
The rocket launched into a nearly cloudless sky at 5:35 p.m. Tuesday. United Launch Alliance, a joint venture by Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., handled the launch.
Eric Brian, a spokesman for the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, declined to say which branch of the military will command the satellite in orbit. Brian says the rocket carried a $500 million payload. The satellite was made by Lockheed Martin.
Technical issues have twice delayed the rocket’s launch.