On December 11, 2012 at 18:03 UTC the "Atlas 5” rocket-carrier was launched from Complex 41 of Cape Canaveral launch site of US Air Force. The launch was performed by United Launch Alliance supported by the 45th Space Wing of US Air Force. The rocket orbited the X-37B space plane (miniature military space shuttle). United Launch Alliance and US Air Force declared the launch as a success, beginning the third mission for the X-37B program and the second for this particular spaceplane that had flown a 224-day voyage from April through December 2010.
