Atlas V rocket successfully launches SES-20 and SES-21 communications satellites

United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing, has successfully placed Luxembourg's SES communications satellites into geosynchronous orbit.

Here's What We Know

The Atlas V rocket launched Oct. 5 at 18:36 (EDT) or 15:36 (PDT) from the Cape Canaveral Space Center in Florida. The rocket launched the SES-20 and SES-21 satellites into a geosynchronous orbit to provide a TV signal to the United States.

United Launch Alliance has confirmed that the mission was a success. The SES-20 satellite was deployed into orbit 5 hours and 40 minutes after launch. A second spacecraft joined it 40 minutes later. They will orbit the Earth at a distance of nearly 36,000 km.

Source: space