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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.。

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.。

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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.
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You can check out the full launch webcast in the window below. 。

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