ULA - Atlas V / NROL-101 Mission poster.
Nov. 13, 2020
Atlas V launches NROL-101
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 531 rocket launched the NROL-101 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on 13 November 2020, at 22:32 UTC (17:32 EST).
Atlas V launches NROL-101
The mission was the 86th for an Atlas V launch vehicle and the 4th in the 531 configuration. This was the first Atlas V rocket powered by Northrop Grumman’s GEM 63 boosters.
Atlas V
ULA’s Atlas V rocket is a workhorse for the U.S. military, intelligence community and scientific researchers. Developed as a modular vehicle, each Atlas V is tailored to the needs of its passenger by adding as many as five side-mounted solid rocket boosters for increased lift performance and a variety of available payload fairings in various diameters and lengths to protect satellites during atmospheric ascent. The high-energy Centaur upper stage, which has been used to send spacecraft to every planet in our solar system, is incorporated into Atlas V to deliver the payloads to their intended destinations.
United Launch Alliance (ULA): https://www.ulalaunch.com/
National Reconnaissance Office (NRO): https://www.nro.gov/
Images, Video, Text, Credits: Credits: Illustration, photos and video footage courtesy of United Launch Alliance/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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