Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] Atlas IIA rocket launched the U.S. Navy’s Ultra High Frequency Follow-on F9 satellite last Wednesday (10/21) into intermediate transfer orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla. The liftoff marked the sixth and final Atlas launch of 1998, and the 41st consecutive successful flight for the rocket. The bird is the Navy’s ninth of 10 satellites launched into geosynchronous orbit that will provide high-speed broadcast service to military ships, submarines, aircraft and ground troops.

In related news, An Orbital Sciences Corp. [ORB] Pegasus rocket successfully launched the Brazilian SCD-2 environmental monitoring satellite in a mission that originated Thursday (10/22) at 7:00 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla. Also aboard the Pegasus was NASA’s Wing Glove Experiment. Orbital’s Stargazer Pegasus carrier aircraft took off from Cape Canaveral and flew about 100 miles offshore to a predetermined launch point over the Atlantic Ocean.