Watch an Atlas V rocket launch a missile-detecting satellite to orbit

On Friday, an Atlas V rocket will launch another satellite for the US military — one aimed at giving advanced warning of missile launches from space. The probe going up is called SBIRS GEO-4, for Space Based Infrared System, and it’s the fourth satellite of its kind to go into a high orbit around Earth. As its name implies, the satellite is designed to use infrared to spot the heat coming from potential missiles launched on Earth, giving the US an early heads-up on strikes.

The Atlas V, made and operated by United Launch Alliance, launched the three previous SBIRS satellites that all went to the same orbit. These satellites sit about 22,000 miles above the Earth’s surface, in an orbit known as geostationary orbit. Up there, satellites…

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