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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A powerful, new version of the rocket that carried John Glenn into orbit blasted off Wednesday on a flight intended to revolutionize — and revitalize — the nation’s launch business. 

Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Atlas V rose from its seaside pad right on time at 6:05 p.m., carrying a European broadcasting satellite along with the hopes of more than 1,000 aerospace workers and Air Force dignitaries on hand for the inaugural liftoff. 

The mood was tense as the countdown reached zero. Even after the rocket took off, no one dared celebrate in the launch control center. It was another nerve-racking half-hour before the satellite reached the proper orbit, and only then were the champagne bottles uncorked. 

Flight controllers broke into applause, shook hands and embraced at the news of success. At least one wiped away tears. 

“Congratulation, guys,” launch director Adrian Laffitte said. “Let’s party!” 

The Atlas V — a descendant of America’s first intercontinental ballistic missile and the Mercury-Atlas booster that propelled Glenn in 1962 — is the biggest and most powerful model in this 45-year-old rocket line. It stands 191 feet and packs 860,000 pounds of thrust with its Russian-built engine. 

“After five years of working on something, it was thrilling, right up there with the births of my kids,” chief systems engineer George Sowers said shortly after liftoff. 

Lockheed Martin poured more than $1 billion into the Atlas V program, and the Air Force contributed another $500 million in order to have an assured path to space. The Air Force also invested $500 million in the competition: Boeing’s Delta IV rocket, scheduled to make its debut in October.