After a one day scrub due to a faulty valve, the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite(AEHF-2) atop an Atlas 5 rocket blasts off from Kennedy Space Center.

Valued at $1.7 billion and weighing 13,567 pounds at launch, the craft will provide the president and military leaders with a secure and survivable communications link in wartime. A series of AEHF spacecraft will replace the aging Milstar satellite fleet and feature the highest levels of encryption, low probability of intercept and detection, jammer resistance and the ability to penetrate the electro-magnetic interference caused by nuclear weapons.

Cloudy conditions which reduced launch probability to 60% presented a great photo-op! Photos taken from Port Canaveral - a distance of 11.5 miles.