In these breathtaking photographs and videos, you can feel the tremendous glow of a rocket launch's aftermath. One of the top military rocket liftoffs earlier this month received a significant film boost from both the United States Space Force and the United Launch Alliance (ULA). The breathtaking images capture the thunder of the ULA Atlas V rocket as it launched a new military satellite into orbit on August 4. The satellite, known as SBIRS GEO-6, is the sixth and final spacecraft launched as part of the Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit program, which will detect and track missiles.
The strong rocket in the video below creates artificial dawn at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The heavy-lift Atlas V can be seen shining in the mirror of the lake around the launch complex, then forming a funnel-shaped plume as it rises high in Earth's atmosphere. | ||
| The sunrise launch of the Atlas V rocket bearing SBIRS GEO-6 Aug. 4, 2022 created a haunting glow in the water at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. (Image credit: U.S. Space Force photo by Joshua Conti) |
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| An overview view of the SBIRS GEO-6 rocket plume in the moments after launch Aug. 4, 2022. (Image credit: U.S. Space Force photo by Joshua Conti) |
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| United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched the sixth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (SBIRS GEO-6) satellite this morning (Aug. 4). (Image credit: United Launch Alliance ) |
Looking into the maw of rocket exhaust glory. (Crank up the audio)... #SBIRS GEO6 pic.twitter.com/lcyNnRJchf
— Tory Bruno (@torybruno) August 10, 2022
You guys liked the last #SBIRS video so much, I thought I'd share one more. Crank up the sound and enjoy... pic.twitter.com/ejOz6G8HVK
— Tory Bruno (@torybruno) August 11, 2022
ULA also took part in the festivities, sending videos and photos from its official website as well as its CEO, Tory Bruno. "Looking into the maw of rocket exhaust glory," Bruno tweeted, along with a horrifying close-up of the rocket blasting off from the pad.
This latest launch completes a sequence of satellites that began in 2011. A next-generation missile detection system is also being developed. These detection technologies are becoming increasingly important as the United States and its peer competitors develop new classes of weapons. The Space Force, DARPA, and the US military are developing hypersonic weapons systems, which can travel faster than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5), as well as a new network of satellites to detect missiles launched from non-allied countries.
The Kinzhal missile, which the Russians claim can travel five times faster than the speed of sound, is an illustration of what the Americans are up against. Because of their speed and mobility, these weapons necessitate the development of novel technologies for detecting and tracking them after launch.
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