Two U.S. military surveillance satellites took off today (July 1)
from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:15 p.m.
ET (2315 GMT) on a mission for the United States Air Force called USSF-12
Approximately four and a half minutes after liftoff,
the Atlas V's first and second stages separated,
followed by a burning of the Centaur's engine for more than six minutes.
Two more Centaur burns will allow the satellites to be deployed into geosynchronous orbit
approximately 22,300 miles (35,900 kilometers) above Earth.
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However, this will not occur until about six hours after the launch of the rocket.
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Among the two spacecraft, the Wide Field of View satellite (WFOV)
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is the Space Force Space System Command's (SSC) testing
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platform for a new generation of missile surveillance
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One is a satellite bus that hosts a number of technology
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demonstrations for the U.S. Ministry of Defense (MoD)
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It is known simply as the USSF-12 Ring.
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