United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket carried a National Reconnaissance Office satellite to orbit Friday in a launch that marked a major milestone for the next-generation Vulcan rocket as Atlas V debuted the new GEM-63 solid rocket boosters from Northrop Grumman — the start of a switch away from the Aerojet Rocketdyne boosters.
Liftoff is set from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and SLC-41 at 17:32 Eastern Standard Time (22:32 UTC) on Friday, 13 November.