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United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched one of the Colorado-based firm's Atlas V 501 rockets from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) located in Florida on May 20, 2015 with the AFSPC-5 mission for the United States Air Force. On board was Boeing's X-37B space plane. The mission tested Aerojet Rocketdyne's XR-5A Hall-effect thruster in support of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) communications satellite program. The Atlas V also launched an Aft Bulkhead Carrier (ABC) containing eight P-Pods that released 10 CubeSats. Following primary spacecraft separation the Centaur then changed altitude and inclination in order to release the CubeSat spacecraft which were sponsored by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and NASA. Of particular note was the LightSail mission which also hitched a ride on this flight. Photos courtesy: Michael Howard, Mike Deep, Jared Haworth
