Atlas V NROL-42 The encapsulated payload for the National Reconnaissance Office's NROL-42 mission is transported and mated to an Atlas V rocket inside the Mobile Service Tower at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex-3.

Good news comes from ULA announcing that everything is progressing toward the ULA Atlas V NROL-42 launch in support of national security.

The mission, for the National Reconnaissance Office, is set to lift off on a ULA Atlas V rocket on Thursday, September 21 from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. 

Today’s L-3 weather update shows 40 percent favorable conditions for launch. The launch time is 10:38 p.m. PDT.

Launch Day Forecast

Overall probability of violating weather constraints: 60 percent

Areas of concern: Launch Visibility, Ground Winds

Overall probability of violating weather constraints for 24 Hour Delay: 30 percent

Areas of concern: Ground Winds 

This is going to be the company's sixth launch of 2017 and the 121st launch, overall.

NROL-42 will be the 25th mission that ULA has launched for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) since ULA's founding in 2006 and is the 73rd Atlas V launch sine the rocket's inaugural launch on August 21 of 2002.

SATELLITE: SES 3

TRANSPONDER: 24

BAND: C-Band Digital

ORBITAL POSITION: 103 degrees west

HD BANDWIDTH: 18 MHz (Half Transponder ‘CD’)

UPLINK FREQ: 6,414.000 MHz (Horizontal)

DOWNLINK FREQ: 4,189.000 MHz (Vertical)

SYMBOL RATE: 13