Tag: Atlas 5
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Preview: NASA science-enabling relay satellite poised for launch
The TDRS-M spacecraft is encapsulated in the Atlas 5’s nose cone for atmospheric ascent. Credit: NASA-KSC TV CAPE CANAVERAL — Resembling a cocooned insect with antennas and appendages tucked snuggly to its body for launch, NASA’s latest communications relay hub will be shot into space Friday to blossom in geosynchronous orbit for routing signals to…
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Timeline: Atlas 5/TDRS-M ascent events
This is the launch timeline to be followed by the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent into orbit from Cape Canaveral with NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-M. Launch is scheduled for Friday at 8:03 a.m. EDT (1203 GMT). T+0:00:01.1 Liftoff With the RD-180 main engine running, the Atlas 5 vehicle lifts off and begins a vertical…
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Photos: Atlas 5 rocket assembled to launch data relay satellite for NASA
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket that will boost NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-M, or TDRS-M, into space arrived at Cape Canaveral on June 26 aboard the Delta Mariner cargo vessel from the production factory in Alabama. Flying in its basic two-stage configuration with no strap-on solids, the Atlas 5 was stacked aboard…
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AV-074/TDRS-M launch fact sheet
Payload: TRACKING AND DATA RELAY SATELLITE-M NASA geosynchronous communications satellite Relays data from ISS, Hubble and LEO customers Cost: $408 million satellite + $132m launch service Launch Date: Friday, Aug. 18, 2017 Launch Window: 40 minutes 8:03-8:43 a.m. EDT 1203-1243 GMT Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida Space Launch Complex 41 Customer: NASA…
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Two U.S. military satellite launches delayed into next year
An Atlas 5-411 will launch the SBIRS GEO Flight 4 satellite in January. Credit: United Launch Alliance CAPE CANAVERAL — Two U.S. military satellite launches planned for this fall from Cape Canaveral are being delayed to 2018 due to separate factors, the Air Force says. The fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency protected communications spacecraft and…
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Commercial lunar mission signs up with Atlas 5 for launch
Credit: Astrobotic illustration of lander CAPE CANAVERAL — In a commercial push to return to the Moon while celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, Astrobotic Technology Inc. has contracted with United Launch Alliance to use an Atlas 5 rocket to send the Peregrine lander to the lunar surface in 2019. “Astrobotic is thrilled to…
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Videos: Atlas 5 rocket assembled to launch NASA’s TDRS-M bird
The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket that will boost NASA’s latest communications relay satellite into space is targeting an Aug. 20 liftoff at 7:56 a.m. EDT (1156 GMT). The Tracking and Data Relay satellite-M, or TDRS-M, will be carried aloft from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, reaching a customized…
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Sierra Nevada confirms ULA will launch first two Dream Chaser cargo missions
Artist’s concept of the Dream Chaser spacecraft, seen here with folded wings in launch configuration, and the Atlas 5-552 rocket that will send it into orbit. Credit: ULA Sierra Nevada and United Launch Alliance have announced the most powerful version of the Atlas 5 rocket, with five strap-on boosters and a twin-engine upper stage, will…
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Photos: NASA’s TDRS-M satellite being readied for upcoming launch
CAPE CANAVERAL — With the Atlas 5 rocket that will boost it into space now assembled and waiting, a $408 million NASA communications satellite is in final preparations for its science data relay mission. The Tracking and Data Relay satellite-M, or TDRS-M, will be carried aloft by United Launch Alliance on Aug. 3 from Complex…
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Air Force selects Atlas 5 to launch multipurpose satellite to high orbit
An Atlas 5-551 will launch the Air Force’s STP 3 mission. Credit: ULA CAPE CANAVERAL — A nuclear blast detection satellite and an assortment of experiments will be boosted directly into geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above Earth in 2019 by the most-powerful version of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket, the Air Force has decided.…