Atlas II Series Rocket Retires After Batting 1.000
By Staff Writer | September 1, 2004
With the successful launch of the National Reconnaissance Office‘s national security satellite yesterday at 7:17 p.m. EST from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the Atlas II series of expendable launch vehicles was retired with a perfect record of 63 missions and no launch failures dating back to the first Atlas II launch in December 1991. For this particular mission, the satellite was launched on a Lockheed Martin [LMT]-built Atlas IIAS. International Launch Services provided the launch services for this mission.