On July 1 at 23:15 UTC, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 launched the USSF-12 mission into geostationary orbit. The powerful 541 variant, with four solid rocket boosters and one engine on the Centaur upper stage, was used to directly insert the mission’s two payloads into geostationary orbit 35,000 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.

Atlas V can fly with up to five solid rocket boosters, depending on the satellite and the planned orbit. This launch will be the last flight of this particular Atlas V variant as it will be phased out for the upcoming Vulcan Centaur rocket.

Like a regular USSF mission, the press kit only talked about the payloads in general terms with no specifics. The main payload on USSF-12 is the Wide Field Of View testbed, which will be operational for between three and five years and be used to test new sensors for future infrared missile tracking satellites. The Wide Field Of View sensor on the satellite has a six-degree field of view.

The other satellite on the mission was designated USSF-12 Ring, and the United Launch Alliance press release simply called it “a classified mission to demonstrate future technology for the Department of Defense.”

The launch was delayed for several months from earlier in 2022, first to (probably) get the Boeing OFT-2 mission completed sooner rather than later and then 24 hours after the first attempt on June 30 because of weather. The latter delay was caused by thunderstorms on a Florida summer afternoon, so not too surprising. The Atlas V eventually lifted off an hour into its second attempt, and both payloads were successfully deployed in orbit six hours later.

More Information

ULA press release

Launch video