The Atlas V ("Atlas Five") rocket is the newest in Lockheed Martin's series of Atlas expendable launch vehicles. ("Expendable" means each rocket is used only once.)
Earlier Atlas rockets used balloon tanks for their fuel. Empty balloon tanks by themselves aren't enough to support the rocket's weight - they must be pressurized or the rocket will collapse. The Atlas V is different in that it uses rigid support structures, so it can support its own weight even when its fuel tanks are empty. This change makes the Atlas V more like the Titan rockets (also by Lockheed Martin, and being replaced by the Atlas V).
Like the Atlas III, the Atlas V uses RD-180 engines that were designed and built in Russia. This is ironic because the first Atlas rocket was an ICBM, many of which were aimed at the former Soviet Union.
As of February, 2006, all seven Atlas V launches had been successful. The first five were communications satellites and the last two were the Mars Reconaissance Orbiter (MRO) and New Horizons (a mission to Pluto). The Atlas V model at the museum is the one that launched New Horizons on January 19, 2006.
The Atlas V can have anywhere from zero to five strap-on boosters. The model at the museum has five. Note how they are not arranged symmetrically.
If you read the various labels on the model, you will notice one that says ILS, which stands for "International Launch Services." ILS is the launch provider for the Atlas V and the Russian Proton rockets.
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Author(s): Troy McLuhan (unknown date prior to 2007 December 31)
