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WATCH: Atlas V rocket successfully launches from the Space Coast

By WFTV.com News Staff
By WFTV.com News Staff

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The United Launch Alliance successfully launched its Atlas V rocket early Tuesday.

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According to NASA, the rocket will deliver “cutting edge technology.” It will also deliver NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration technology to orbit.

The mission also includes delivering sensors for nuclear detonation detection.

Watch the launch below:

Atlas V rocket successfully launches from the Space Coast

UPDATE: The United Launch Alliance said it’s been given approval for launch.

UPDATE: The United Launch Alliance said the rocket will now liftoff at 5:19 a.m.

Tory Bruno, the CEO of United Launch Alliance, said upper level winds were still too high.

The launch window ends at 6:04 a.m.

UPDATE: NASA and the United Launch Alliance said the launch has been delayed to 5:03 a.m. due to high velocity upper level winds.

Crews said “a series of balloons have been sent aloft over the course of the countdown to measure the speed and direction of upper level winds that the Atlas V will experience during flight. That data is then assessed to verify conditions are within the limits of the launch vehicle.”

After its launch was scrubbed twice in recent days, United Launch Alliance is scheduled to try again to send an Atlas V rocket into space on Tuesday.

The launch, originally scheduled for 4:04 a.m. Sunday, was pushed back to the same time Monday before it was delayed again after a rocket fuel leak was discovered, according to ULA.

The ground storage system leak that scrubbed Sunday’s launch attempt has been repaired, said ULA.

PHOTOS: ULA rolls out Atlas V rocket ahead of launch set for this weekend

But ULA said they needed extra time to verify the sample integrity of the fuel before they can fill the tanks.

ULA is now targeting 4:04 a.m. Tuesday for the next launch attempt.

ULA said the launch is part of the Space Test Program-3 (STP-3) mission for the U.S. Space Force’s (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC). It is carrying payloads for both NASA and the U.S. Space Force.

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ULA rocket The United Launch Alliance rolled out its Atlas V rocket on Friday ahead of a launch set for this weekend. (United Launch Alliance/United Launch Alliance)

There is a lot of advanced technology flying on the mission, including sensors for nuclear detonation detection.

The spacecraft will be delivered to geosynchronous orbit.

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PHOTOS: Rocket launches from Central Florida

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ULA Atlast V AHEF-4 Oct 17 2018 ULA Atlast V AHEF-4 Oct 17 2018 Picture Jon Galed (Jon Galed/Jon Galed)

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