In the Rocket’s Red Glare:

Jan. 25, 2006

NASA got its Pluto spacecraft off—after weather and technical delays—from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., with the help of Air Force Space Command’s 45th Space Wing. The wing assisted Lockheed Martin with launch of the company’s Atlas V on Jan. 19. It was the first launch in which the new rocket used five strap-on boosters, making it the fastest vehicle to leave the Earth’s atmosphere, said wing officials.

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