Tag: Atlas V
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Launch Roundup: China launches crew, Falcon 9 launches Bandwagon rideshare and 250th Starlink mission
This week, China has launched three taikonauts to the Tiangong space station. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 had four flights scheduled, with its third Bandwagon rideshare mission followed by three more Starlink missions, including its 250th dedicated Starlink flight. United Launch Alliance successfully launched its first batch of operational Kuiper satellites aboard an Atlas V 551 rocket.…
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Launch Roundup: Falcon 9 launches three missions; New Shepard completes NS-31
During this active week of launches, SpaceX launched Falcon 9 three times, and New Shepard carried the first all-woman crew above the Kármán line. On April 10, China successfully launched a Cheng Zhang 3B/E rocket into geostationary transfer orbit. SpaceX launched NROL-192 and Starlink Group 12-17 on April 12, followed by an expected launch of…
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Atlas V set for final missions ahead of retirement
United Launch Alliance (ULA) will soon close out production of its Atlas V rocket, completing a stock of 15 boosters set to fly on contracted missions. With ULA’s future focus on the Vulcan rocket, Atlas V will aim to end on a high, adding to over one hundred successful launches. The last Atlas V Common Core Booster will…
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Launch Roundup: Atlas V, Electron, CZ-3B/E, and Falcon 9 missions flying this week
As July turns into August, launch activity will pick up after Falcon 9’s return to flight. Besides the Falcon 9, ULA’s Atlas V and Rocket Lab’s Electron were also being prepared to fly missions to orbit. The USSF-51 flight from Florida was followed by a Chang Zheng-3B/E from China and the Starlink 10-6 flight. CRS…
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Atlas V successfully launched its last ever national security mission
United Launch Alliance, formed in 2006 to merge the Boeing and Lockheed Martin launch vehicle programs, has flown 100 national security missions over the last 18 years using the Delta II, Delta IV, and Atlas V rocket families. USSF-51 was ULA’s 100th national security launch, and the last ever flown by an Atlas-family rocket. An…
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Boeing’s Starliner CFT launches on third attempt
After years of anticipation, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner capsule has flown its first crew into space on the 100th flight of an Atlas V launch vehicle. Capping off Starliner’s test campaign, the Crew Flight Test (CFT) has sent Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams on a trajectory to rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS) where they…
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Launch Roundup: 100th launch of the year, Starliner delays, NASA’s PREFIRE-1 mission
There are two launches from China to start this week, the first of which will be the 95th launch attempt of the year worldwide. If all goes to plan, this week should see the 100th launch of 2024, although the schedule is rather fluid at present. SpaceX has already passed 50 launches this year and…
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Launch Roundup: Boeing Starliner delayed and China launches new rocket variant
This week was expected to see the maiden launches of two new spacecraft: Boeing’s crewed Starliner spacecraft and the first Chang Zheng 6C rocket from China. The launch of Starliner’s Crewed Flight Test (CFT) mission will be the first crewed launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station since the Apollo era, as well as the…
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Launch Roundup: Project Kuiper Protoflight and Galactic 04 highlight this week
United Launch Alliance (ULA) flew only its second Atlas V of 2023, as Amazon’s subsidiary Kuiper Systems LLC is finally placed its first Kuiper demonstration satellites into orbit. This week also featured a launch from China, three Falcon 9 Starlink launches, a Virgin Galactic suborbital tourist flight, and one of the final flights for the…
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ULA conducts NROL-107 launch, last Atlas NRO mission
United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched its Atlas V with the classified NROL-107 Silent Barker mission set on Sunday, following several days, including a rollback due to a hurricane threat. For this demanding mission, sending the payload to a near-geosynchronous orbit, Atlas V flew in its most powerful active configuration: Atlas V 551. NROL-107 Silent Barker…