spacetoday.net: Atlas 5 launches STP-3 mission

Atlas 5 launches STP-3 mission

Posted: Fri, Dec 10, 2021, 12:47 PM ET (1747 GMT)
Atlas 5 launch of STP-3 (ULA)

An Atlas 5 lifted off Tuesday on the Space Test Program (STP) 3 mission. The Atlas 5 551 lifted off at 5:19 am EST (1019 GMT) after a delay of more than an hour because of upper-level winds. The two payloads on the STP-3 mission, STPSat-6 and LDPE-1, separated later in the day after the Centaur upper stage injected them directly into geostationary orbit. STPSat-6 carries a sensor for the National Nuclear Security Administration to detect nuclear explosions and NASA's Laser Communication Relay Demonstration payload. LDPE-1 hosts six US Space Force experiments focused on space weather and situational awareness.