A rocket carrying telecommunications equipment has launched into space.
An Atlas 5 rocket carrying the equipment lifted off at 4:12 p.m. Monday and was the heaviest payload ever launched aboard an Atlas 5 rocket.
The equipment will help with the operation of cell phones and other handheld devices and was built by Palo Alto, Calif.-based Space Systems/Loral.
The satellite is more than 27 feet tall and has a reflector that unfurls to more than 100 feet to supply solar power to the craft.
At launch, the fully fueled satellite weighed about 14,625 pounds.
SOTT
SIGNS
OF THE
TIMES
OF THE
TIMES
Welcome to Sott.net
The World for People who Think
Comment: Doesn't it seem odd that, with the improvements in materials and electronics in this day and age, such a heavy satellite would be required for cell phone and handheld device communications support? Either there is more to the payload or more to the satellite capabilities than reported.