A
United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 501 rocket carrying the Air
Force's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-6) lifted
off on Sunday at 9:14 a.m. EDT, from Space Launch Complex-41.
This marks the 84th successful
launch of an Atlas V rocket. This is the sixth flight of the X-37B.
Details of the mission are classified.
Along
with OTV-6, this mission deployed FalconSat-8, a small satellite
developed by the U.S. Air Force Academy and sponsored by
the Air Force Research Laboratory to conduct experiments on orbit.
The mission also carried two NASA experiments, including a material
sample plate to determine the results of radiation and other space
effects on various materials, and an experiment which will assess
space effects on seeds used to grow food. Another experiment
sponsored by the Naval Research Laboratory will examine the ability
to transform solar power into radio frequency microwave energy which
could be transmitted to the ground.
ULA's
next launch is NASA's Mars 2020 mission carrying the Perseverance
rover on an Atlas V rocket. The launch is scheduled for July
17 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Fla.
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