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The SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida with two military satellites. | Photo courtesy of the SpaceX/Twitter
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Space Systems Command and mission partners have successfully executed a U.S. Space Force mission by launching two military satellites from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, it was announced Monday.
The liftoff was from Launch Complex-39A using SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy Rocket at 2:56 p.m. Sunday. The purpose of the mission, titled USSF-67, was to put two satellites to transmit military communications data in orbit and transport payloads to space.
Space Systems Command is headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo.
“We had another fantastic launch today on a Falcon Heavy, just two months after our first National Security Space Launch mission using this launch system, and while the launch itself was impressive, I am most proud of the fact that we placed important capabilities into space that help our nation stay ahead of very real and growing threats,” Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, program executive officer for Assured Access to Space, said in a statement released Sunday.
One of the satellites, CBAS-2, is used to relay capabilities in support of senior military leaders and combatant commanders. The other satellite, ESPA LDPE-3A, is used to rapidly place multiple and diverse payloads into orbit and provide data for future Space Force programs.
“We’re certainly on a roll with 96 consecutive successful national security space launches, and the takeaway is that we’ve really got a spectacular team working together on our most challenging launch profiles to ensure our mission partners get on orbit with confidence,” Purdy said.
Two payloads from SSC are being delivered by the ESPA LDPE-3A satellite and three from Space Rapid Capabilities Office.
“This is a huge win for the entire space enterprise,” Col. Joseph Roth, director, Innovation and Prototyping Acquisition Delta, said in a statement. “Not only are we significantly increasing our launch and on-orbit mission capabilities, we are also demonstrating and strengthening our space operations footprint to ensure we can rapidly respond to any developing threats from our adversaries. My hats off to the entire total force team that made this launch a huge success.”
