Alabamians help launch secretive Air Force space plane into orbit for mystery mission

The Atlas V rocket launched by United Launch Alliance

DECATUR, Ala. — North Alabama put a man on the moon nearly 50 years ago, and now they will be behind the next phase of space exploration with the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) secretive new project, which had its first launch Wednesday.

A joint project of defense and flight giants Lockheed Martin and Boeing, ULA has a central plant in Decatur, just a few miles from where the Saturn V rocket was engineered by Dr. Wenher von Braun and his team. ULA has already delivered more than 90 GPS, weather, and other scientific satellites into orbit since its inception in 2006.

Wednesday, ULA launched an Atlas V rocket with a payload of a Air Force Space Command 5 (AFSPC-5) satellite for the U.S. Air Force, as well as the secretive X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the U.S. Air Force, and several other experimental projects.

“ULA is honored to launch this unique spacecraft for the U.S Air Force,” said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president of the partnership’s Atlas and Delta Programs. “Congratulations to the Air Force and all of our mission partners on today’s successful launch! The seamless integration between the Air Force, Boeing, and the entire mission team culminated in today’s successful launch of the AFSPC-5 mission.”

The X-37B vaguely resembles a 25 percent scale model of a space shuttle, but is unmanned and is launched from a rocket, instead of having its own launch pad. Also like the shuttle, it is capable of landing like an airplane and being used over and over again.

“Space is so vitally important to everything we do,” said Maj. Gen. Tom Masiello, commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory. “Secure comms, ISR, missile warning, weather prediction, precision navigation and timing all rely on it, and the domain is increasingly contested. A more efficient on-orbit thruster capability is huge. Less fuel burn lowers the cost to get up there, plus it enhances spacecraft operational flexibility, survivability and longevity.”

Another project in the Atlas V’s payload is the prototype for a solar sail called “LightSail,” inspired by astronomer and author Carl Sagan and funded in part by a Kickstarter campaign. LightSail will go on a 30-day mission in preparation for a much longer-term mission to be conducted next year.

The next launch of an Atlas V rocket will be on July 15th, in Cape Canaveral, Florida.