Atlas V rocket launch from Cape Canaveral

The Atlas V rocket launch from Cape Canaveral was a success early Wednesday morning.  The rocket carried a U.S. Navy Communications satellite designed to provide more data and cell phone service.

Officials say this is the most powerful configuration of an Atlas V Rocket and is sure to be bright in the pre-dawn sky.  The twenty story tall rocket was rolled out to the launch pad on Monday, after a two-day delay caused by weather concerns last week from tropical storm Erika.

It was a soggy roll out to be sure, with plenty of water on the ground from recent storms, but since then, chances for launch, which take the weather forecast into account, have improved to 80%, and will likely go higher.

On top of United Launch Alliance’s most powerful rocket is a U.S. Navy satellite call MUOS, or Mobile User Objective System which is just a fancy name for what essentially operates like a cell phone tower in space, bringing smart phone like capabilities to military communication devices.

Because the launch was just several minutes before sunrise, the sun illuminated not only the rocket, but the smoke trail.