Eutelsat W4

Maiden flight of the Atlas III, and the first time an American launch vehicle flew on a Russian main engine. The new first stage was built around a single NPO Energomash RD-180, a two-chamber derivative of the engine that powered the Zenit, replacing the cluster of older Rocketdyne engines on earlier Atlas stages. The debut delivered the Eutelsat W4 communications satellite cleanly to orbit.