Atlas V thunders to orbit with mystery satellite

A 19-story Atlas V rocket thundered from its Cape Canaveral pad at 8:10 p.m. today carrying a classified U.S. government satellite on its way to orbit.

Storms and clouds delayed a planned 5:44 p.m. liftoff, but conditions cleared to enable a liftoff at the last possible minute before the launch window closed.

The CLIO mission is believed to be a Lockheed Martin-built communications satellite headed for a geostationary orbit 22,300 miles over the equator.

No military or intelligence agency has publicly claimed ownership of the mission. Its name may have been derived from an original designation as "Commercial Launch 10" or "Classified 10."

The early phase of flight went as planned and the spacecraft was scheduled to separate from the United Launch Alliance rocket's Centaur upper stage nearly three hours after launch.

The launch came a few hours after NASA announced the Atlas V is one of the rockets that will resume launches of astronauts from the Cape in a few years, in a slightly different configuration. Boeing's CST-100 crew capsule with fly atop the rocket.

It was the 49th launch by an Atlas V since a maiden flight in 2002, and ULA's 11th successful launch of 2014. The company has three more to go this year, including two from the Cape.

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