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ULA Atlas 5 Rocket Launches SBIRS GEO-2 Satellite
Credit: Pat Corkery, United Launch Alliance
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasts off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the second Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) GEO-2 satellite for the U.S. Air Force at 5:21 p.m. EDT on March 19, 2013.
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ULA Atlas 5 Rocket Launches SBIRS GEO-2 Satellite
Credit: Pat Corkery, United Launch Alliance
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasts off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the second Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) GEO-2 satellite for the U.S. Air Force at 5:21 p.m. EDT on March 19, 2013.
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SBIRS Geo-2 Satellite in Space
Credit: United Launch Alliance
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket launches the SBIRS GEO-2 missile defense satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 19, 2013 in this still from a ULA webcast.
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SBIRS GEO-2 Satellite Launch: Atlas 5 Fairing Separation
Credit: United Launch Alliance
The protective shell-like nose cone fairing separates and falls away from the Atlas 5 rocket carrying the U.S. military's SBIRS GEO-2 missile defense satellite into orbit in this rear-facing view from a camera on the rocket during its March 19, 2013 launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
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SBIRS Geo-2 Satellite Launch Stage Separation
Credit: United Launch Alliance
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket launches the SBIRS GEO-2 missile defense satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 19, 2013 in this still from a ULA webcast.
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Atlas 5 Rocket Ascends with SBIRS GEO-2
Credit: United Launch Alliance
An Atlas 5 rocket streaks toward space carrying the SBIRS GEO-2 missile defense satellite on March 19, 2013, after a successful launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
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Atlas 5 Launches SBIRS GEO-2: Shockwave
Credit: United Launch Alliance
A shockwave of water vapor forms at the nose of an Atlas 5 rocket as it soars into space on March 19, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a mission to orbit the SBIRS GEO-2 missile defense satellite for the U.S. Air Force.
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SBIRS Geo-2 Satellite Launch
Credit: United Launch Alliance
An Atlas 5 rocket launched the SBIRS GEO-2 mission from Cape Canaveral AFS on March 19, 2013.
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Atlas 5 Rocket Ascends with SBIRS GEO-2
Credit: United Launch Alliance
An Atlas 5 rocket streaks toward space carrying the SBIRS GEO-2 missile defense satellite on March 19, 2013, after a successful launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
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SBIRS Geo-2 Satellite Launch Viewed from Atlas 5 Rocket
Credit: United Launch Alliance
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket launches the SBIRS GEO-2 missile defense satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 19, 2013 in this still from a ULA webcast.
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SBIRS Geo-2 Satellite Launch
Credit: United Launch Alliance
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket launches the SBIRS GEO-2 missile defense satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 19, 2013 in this still from a ULA webcast.
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SBIRS Geo-2 Satellite Launch Viewed from Atlas 5 Rocket
Credit: United Launch Alliance
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket launches the SBIRS GEO-2 missile defense satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 19, 2013 in this still from a ULA webcast.
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Liftoff! Atlas 5 Rocket Launches SBIRS GEO-2
Credit: United Launch Alliance
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket launches the SBIRS GEO-2 missile defense satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 19, 2013 in this still from a ULA webcast.
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Atlas 5 Rocket Atop Launch Pad: SBIRS GEO-2
Credit: Pat Corkery, United Launch Alliance
The Atlas 5 rocket arrives at the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 18, 2013, in preparation for a March 19 launch of the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) GEO-2 for the U.S. Air Force.
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Atlas 5 Rocket Rolls to Launch Pad: SBIRS GEO-2
Credit: Pat Corkery, United Launch Alliance
The Atlas 5 rocket rolls to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 18, 2013, in preparation for a March 19 launch of the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) GEO-2 for the U.S. Air Force.
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Atlas V Rocket With Air Force SBIRS GEO-2 Satellite
Credit: United Launch Alliance
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 4-meter diameter payload fairing, with the Air Force's SBIRS GEO-2 satellite inside, is transported and mated to the Atlas 5 rocket in the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Liftoff is set for March 19, 2013.
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Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous (SBIRS) Missile Warning Satellite
Credit: Lockheed Martin
An artist's illustration of a Lockheed Martin-built Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous (SBIRS) missile warning satellite for the U.S. military in orbit.
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SBIRS GEO-2 Satellite Encapsulated
Credit: United Launch Alliance
The U.S. Air force's Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) GEO-2 satellite is encapsulated inside a 4-meter diameter payload fairing in preparation for launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 401 rocket on March 19, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
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How an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Works (Infographic)
Credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com contributor
Here is how an intercontinental ballistic missile works. [Full Story]
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SBIRS GEO-2 Atlas 5 Launch Poster
Credit: United Launch Alliance
Mission poster for the U.S. military's SBIRS GEO-2 missile defense satellite mission in March 2013.










































