United Launch Alliance Atlas V successfully launches PAN satellite

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, on behalf of the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, successfully launched the PAN satellite at 5:35 p.m. EDT, today from Space Launch Complex-41 as a commercial launch service. This launch marks the 10th overall mission for ULA in 2009 and the third Atlas V mission of the year.

“ULA is proud to have played a critical role in the success of this important mission,” said Mark Wilkins, ULA vice president of Atlas programs. “Close teamwork with Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Space Wing at Cape Canaveral made today’s launch possible.”

This mission was launched aboard an Atlas V 401 configuration and used a single common core booster powered by the RD-180 engine and a single engine Centaur upper stage. The launch portion of the mission was completed with spacecraft separation approximately two hours after launch.

ULA's next launch, currently scheduled for no earlier than Sept. 18, is the STSS Demo satellite for the United States Missile Defense Agency aboard a Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex-17B.