AFSPC MIlestone: Two DSCS-III satellites launched from the Space Shuttle “Atlantis”

Air Force Space Command is celebrating its 30th Anniversary! Here is a significant milestone from the command’s history …

Lift-off of the Space Shuttle “Atlantis” occurred on 3 October 1985, at 11:15 a.m. EDT, from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center. Its cargo was classified, but it was reported that the shuttle carried two (USA-11 and USA-12) Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS-III) satellites, which were propelled to geosynchronous orbit, 22,500 miles above the Earth by an Inertial Upper Stage (IUS). The mission was deemed successful.
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