Tag: Atlas 5
-
Buildup of unusual launcher begins for NASA’s asteroid sample return mission
File photo of first Atlas 5-411 launch in 2006 with ASTRA 1KR satellite. Credit: Pat Corkery/Lockheed Martin CAPE CANAVERAL — It is a rocket like no other, a vehicle with a single solid-fuel booster mounted to its side, that will launch NASA’s OSIRIS-REx probe next month to bring back a sample of Asteroid Bennu. The…
-
Next missile warning sentinel set for October launch to geosynchronous orbit
SBIRS GEO Flight 3 in the factory before shipment. Credit: Lockheed Martin CAPE CANAVERAL — A highly sophisticated U.S. Air Force satellite to sound the alarm when an enemy missile launches has shipped to its Florida launch site for liftoff in October aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. The third Space Based Infrared…
-
Boeing nears fix for CST-100 Starliner design hitch
The pressure hull for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner structural test article sits inside a repurposed space shuttle hangar at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in this July 25 photo. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett Boeing says engineers are resolving concerns with the mass and aerodynamic shape of the company’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew carrier, and officials are…
-
NROL-61 satellite launched Thursday spotted in space by sky-watchers
The Atlas 5 rocket lifts off with NROL-61. Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now CAPE CANAVERAL — Sky-watchers with a passion for looking up and tracking satellites with remarkable precision have made quick work of locating the spacecraft launched atop an Atlas 5 rocket on Thursday. The NROL-61 satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office was successfully deployed…
-
After three-year wait, commercial imaging observatory shipped for launch
WorldView 4. Credit: Lockheed Martin More than three years after its launch was delayed by a corporate merger, a commercial Earth-imaging satellite has finally shipped to its California rocket base for liftoff aboard an Atlas 5 in September. The WorldView 4 spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, was moved this week from its factory in Sunnyvale…
-
Spy satellite infrastructure supported by successful Atlas 5 rocket launch
CAPE CANAVERAL — A clandestine satellite for the U.S. reconnaissance program was successfully launched by an Atlas 5 rocket today, riding a ferocious torrent of fire and smoke off the pad before disappearing behind a curtain of secrecy. The 194-foot-tall United Launch Alliance rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 at 8:37 a.m. EDT…
-
Photos: Atlas 5 powers away with NROL-61 payload
Launching the secretive NROL-61 payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket thundered away from Cape Canaveral today at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT). Credit: United Launch Alliance See earlier NROL-61 coverage. Our Atlas archive.
-
Photos: More shots of Thursday’s Atlas 5 rocket launch
Departing Cape Canaveral at 8:37 a.m. EDT Thursday, the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted a classified national security satellite into orbit for deployment. Photos by Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now See earlier NROL-61 coverage. Our Atlas archive.
-
Video: Liftoff of Atlas 5 on NROL-61 satellite deployment
The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, standing 194 feet tall and and weighing 950,000 pounds, unleashes 1.5 million pounds of thrust from its main engine and two side-mounted boosters at 8:37 a.m. EDT today to launch the National Reconnaissance Office’s NROL-61 satellite from Cape Canaveral. Video courtesy of United Launch Alliance See earlier NROL-61…
-
Atlas 5/NROL-61 launch timeline
Follow the unclassified portion of the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent to space from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad with the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office’s NROL-61 satellite. Launch is scheduled for Thursday at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT). T+00:01.1: Liftoff The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 vehicle, designated AV-065, will lift off and begin a…