A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket is scheduled to blast off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 5.38 p.m. Wednesday, and the man who will oversee operations is Mark Dowhan, 55, of Cocoa Beach, a seasoned Air Force vet.
Dowhan, as vice president of launch operations, is making his debut today, Florida Today reports. And what a debut, as Dowhan will oversee back-to-back launches.
One week from today, on Wednesday, May 22, a Delta IV rocket equipped with four solid rocket motors will blast off from Space Launch Complex 37 with an advanced military communications satellite; the launch window is between 8:26 p.m. to 8:58 p.m.
The Atlas 5 payload today, the fourth in a series of new-generation Global Positioning System navigation satellites, is equipped with more accurate atomic clocks, a civil signal for commercial aviation and improved anti-jam resistance for its military signals.
Read more on Dowhan and the Atlas V launch here.
