SUMMARY: A Lockheed Martin Atlas III rocket carried a Navy communications satellite onto orbit on Thursday morning. The Atlas III lifted off at 0230 UTC (9:30 pm EST), and it placed the UHF Follow-On (UFO) satellite into an elliptical transfer orbit approximately 32 minutes later. The launch was delayed from Monday because a boltcutter on a liquid oxygen valve needed to be replaced. This was the 68th consecutive successful launch for the Atlas rocket.

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