LIFTOFF! Hyperion HCLV flight VH003, the launch vehicle's third flight and the first in the sidemount configuration, lifted off at dawn (18:53 GMT, 2018-01-17) from pad 1 of the Carl Sagan Space Center, carrying the first Albatross winged tanker vehicle (OV-101) on its first operational mission - refueling tests with logistics vehicles (a Dragon, a Cygnus and a Progress), and later on with the Russian segment of the ISS. The Hyperion provides lower launch costs with respect to the Energia (used in the test flights) for almost every refueling mission in low Earth orbit with no performance loss.