
United Launch Alliance (ULA) on Wednesday successfully lofted a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) aboard an Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle from Vandenberg AFB, Calif.The NROL-79 mission is in support of national defense, ULA said. ULA is a joint venture of Boeing [BA] and Lockheed Martin [LMT].The payload was launched at 9:50 a.m. PST aboard an Atlas V EELV 401 configuration vehicle, which includes a 4-meter diameter extended payload fairing. ULA said the Atlas booster for the…