ULA Atlas V Launch

Photo Credit: ULA

A missile-warning satellite and another spacecraft are on their way to orbit to help the U.S. military get better at tracking fast-moving threats.

The two U.S. military surveillance satellites lifted off today (July 1) atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, which rose off a pad at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:15 p.m. EDT (2315 GMT) on a mission for the U.S. Space Force called USSF-12.

The Atlas V's first and second stages separated four and a half minutes after liftoff, a milestone that was soon followed by a more than six-minute burn of the upper-stage Centaur's engine. After two more Centaur burns, the two satellites were ready to be deployed into geosynchronous orbit, about 22,300 miles (35,900 kilometers) above Earth. That happened as planned about six hours after liftoff, ULA representatives said via Twitter early Saturday morning(opens in new tab).