Atlas V launches MUOS-1

2/24/12 ~ 5:15 p.m.

An Atlas V rocket launches the first Mobile User Objective System satellite, MUOS-1, for the US Navy. The military comsat, the heaviest Atlas payload to date at over 15,000 pounds, will provide narrowband communications for Navy forces around the world. The launch also marked the 200th for the Centaur upper stage, which has injected spacecraft into orbit for half a century on Atlas and Titan rockets.