[3/12/07] An Atlas 5 rocket was launched by the United Launch Alliance for the U.S. Air Force on March 8.

The booster lofted six satellites in a mission marking the first use of the Atlas for an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program mission. Known as Space Test Program-1, the mission deployed the satellites into two different low-Earth orbits.

The multiple-payload mission included the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s Orbital Express, and EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA)-class spacecraft: the U.S. Naval Academy’s MidStar-1-1; Aero Astro’s STPSat-1 for the Space Test Program; Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.’s Cibola Flight Experience for Los Alamos National Laboratory; and the U.S. Air Force Academy’s FalconSAT-3.