UPDATE: ULA has postponed this launch attempt on 9-9-23 Saturday morning due to an issue found during a prelaunch ordnance circuit continuity check. The launch is now planned for Sunday September 10th 2023 at 8:47 AM EDT with a ninety minute window.
ULA United Launch Alliance will embark on their 2nd attempt to launch a classified payload NROL-107 Silent Barker on top of an Atlas V 551 rocket with just over 2 million pounds of thrust on September 9th 2023 at 8:51 AM with a 90 minute window from SLC-41 launch complex. The First launch attempt on August 29th was scrubbed due to the risk of Hurricane Idalia which was strengthening at the time the decision was make to roll the rocket back to the protection of the VIF Vertical Integration Facility.
This classified mission for the NRO National Reconnaissance Office and the USSF United States Space Force involves new capabilities in space with situational awareness & satellite threat detection. The Atlas V has over Twenty different configurations but only ten versions have ever flown. This will be ULA's second mission in 2023 and the first Atlas V launch in over ten plus months since October 2022. It will be the 98th overall Atlas V launch in ULA's history and their 157th overall mission with 100% success rate.
Photos are during todays remote camera set up inside the SLC-41 launch complex on the eastern side of the pad September 8th 2023 by Scott Schilke SpaceNewsFl.Com