ULA sends space plane into orbit

A United Launch Alliance rocket carried an experimental U.S. Air Force space plane into orbit Thursday evening from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

The Air Force’s unmanned Orbital Test Vehicle-1 launched aboard an Atlas V rocket made by the Centennial-based company, firing from the launch pad at 6:01 p.m. MDT.

The mission is the first rocket-fired test flight of the OTV. It was the third launch mission overall for ULA in 2010.

United Launch Alliance, a 4,200-employee company, is the primary rocket launch contractor for U.S. government scientific satellites and space probes.