‘Liftoff!’ ULA Atlas V rocket takes off from Vandenberg in historic launch
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base today, despite the Central Coast base’s infamous heavy fog that made the liftoff difficult to see around the area.
The rocket took off from Vandenberg at around 11:12 a.m, blasting into the dense marine layer surrounding the launch pad.
The rocket successfully carried Landsat 9 — a NASA satellite meant to help monitor Earth’s land and coastal regions — into orbit before separating and moving to a lower orbit to deploy rideshare Cubesats.
The launch had previously been delayed because of supply chain troubles that limited access to liquid nitrogen and, most recently, due to forecasted high winds and potential conflicts on the Western Range.
This was the third launch from the Central Coast base in the past two months.
In late August, Firefly’s inaugural rocket launch ended in a fiery explosion. Then on Sept. 14, SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites.
Vandenberg celebrates 2,000 rocket launches
ULA’s launch was a big miletsone for the recently renamed Space Force base.
According to a Vandenberg news release, the Atlas V launch is the 2,000th rocket launch from the military base.
“The 2,000th launch gives us the opportunity to celebrate the tens of thousands from Team Vandenberg, past and present, who share a proud heritage beginning with the first launch in 1958 through this 2000th launch,” Col. Rob Long, the launch authority for the launch, said in the release. “Space — and launch — is hard. Our record of success is a testament to longstanding mission excellence.”
This story was originally published September 27, 2021 at 10:45 AM.
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