Included among the STP-3 mission's payloads is NASA’s Laser Communication Relay Demonstration (LCRD) aimed at enabling higher speed communications across the vast region of space between the Earth and Mars.
United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket today. For technological and orbit experimentation, Atlas V was launched. Atlas 5 Launch was in coordination with NASA and United States Space Force.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with the Lucy spacecraft aboard is seen in this 2 minute and 30 second exposure photograph as it launches from Space Launch Complex