Lucky rocket just left Trump's America behind
The day Donald Trump was sworn in as president, this rocket was busy ditching Earth.
The rose gold-hued Atlas V lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 7:42 p.m. ET on Friday.
SEE ALSO: This rocket company clearly wants to be as cool as SpaceX
The rocket's payload — the Air Force's Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) GEO Flight 3 satellite — is designed to help detect missile launches worldwide.
The SBIRS mission is "considered one of the nation's highest priority space programs," according to the United Launch Alliance (ULA), which sent the rocket into space.
While the ULA launch and the presidential inauguration weren't related, it didn't stop people (including this reporter) from making jokes about the timing of the two events.
We all wish we could be this rocket rn pic.twitter.com/soGr3sMIcR
— Loren Grush (@lorengrush) January 21, 2017
Wait, take me with you! pic.twitter.com/ZGZvwgNwPB
— Miriam Kramer (@mirikramer) January 21, 2017
FASTER, ROCKET!
SAVE YOURSELF!
GET AWAY WHILE YOU STILL CAN!— Alex Parker (@Alex_Parker) January 21, 2017
You can kind of think of ULA as the stodgy uncle to Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin is one of the most consistent companies in the rocket launching game.
The company prides itself on reliability, whereas SpaceX is more interested in disrupting the way that rockets have been launched for years.
You can check out the full launch webcast in the window below.
This launch was the Atlas V's 69th mission in total, and ULA's first of 2017. The company is expected to launch 11 rockets this year.
