Watch the Nighttime Launch of a New US Military Satellite Tonight!

[Judi Lynn]

By Tariq Malik, Space.com Managing Editor | October 16, 2018 04:54pm ET

An Atlas V rocket will light up the midnight sky over Florida early Wednesday (Oct. 17) to launch a new high-tech military satellite into orbit, and you can watch the liftoff live online.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V is scheduled to launch the new satellite — called the Advanced Extremely High Frequency 4 spacecraft, or AEHF-4 — is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 GMT). You can watch a launch webcast live here, courtesy of ULA, beginning at 11:55 p.m. EDT (0355 GMT).

Built by Lockheed Martin, AEHF-4 is the fourth in a series of high-powered military communications designed to "provide survivable, global, secure, and jam-resistant communications for high-priority military ground, sea, and air assets," according to a U.S. Air Force description. The satellite reportedly cost about $1.8 billion, according to SpaceNews.

"This fourth satellite will complete a worldwide ring of AEHF satellites to deliver global extended data rate (XDR) coverage for the U.S. Air Force and for the partner nations – Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom – that also connect to the AEHF network," Mike Cacheiro, Lockheed Martin vice president of protected communications, said in a statement.

More:
https://www.space.com/42096-watch-the-aehf4-military-satellite-launch-webcast.html

[chillfactor]

1. Thank you for posting.....

I will start watching at 10pm as I am in mountain time.