2002 September 16
The first launch of an Atlas V rocket
occurred last month.
The Atlas V,
built by Lockheed Martin, is the first rocket in the
U. S. Air Force's
Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program.
Rockets in this program can carry increasingly
heavy payloads by just adding more boosters.
In fact, the only US expendable rocket capable of
lifting more was the Saturn V
that carried people to the
Moon.
Atlas rockets have a reputation for being extremely reliable -- the current launch was the 61st consecutive successful launch for an
Atlas.
Highlighted in the inset is the small
RocketCam camera that sent back
pictures from the rocket during launch.