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.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
