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Atlas 5 Rocket Puts MUOS-3 Military Satellite in Orbit

An Atlas 5 rocket sent the third in a series of Mobile and User Objective System satellites into orbit for the U.S. military on Tuesday night.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Tuesday. The rocket sent up a next-generation communications satellite designed to provide cellular-like voice and data services to U.S. military forces around the world. This long-exposure view looks over the campus of the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, about 40 miles from the launch pad.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Tuesday. The rocket sent up a next-generation communications satellite designed to provide cellular-like voice and data services to U.S. military forces around the world. This long-exposure view looks over the campus of the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, about 40 miles from the launch pad.Michael Brown / Reuters
/ Source: The Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An Atlas 5 rocket sent the third in a series of Mobile and User Objective System satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Tuesday night. The first satellite in the MUOS network was launched in 2012, and the second in 2013. A fourth is set to fly this summer.

The satellite system, operated by the U.S. Navy, is intended to improve communications for U.S. military forces. It's expected to achieve full operational capability in two more years. United Launch Alliance provided the rocket.

— The Associated Press