Tag: Centaur
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Atlas 5 rocket, U.S. Air Force satellite arrive at Cape Canaveral for June launch
The first stage of ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket is unloaded from the Mariner transport ship after arriving at Cape Canaveral on April 21. Credit: United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket hardware and a U.S. Air Force communications satellite have arrived at Cape Canaveral for United Launch Alliance’s next mission, scheduled for liftoff June 27. The…
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Atlas 5 rocket begins arriving in Florida for commercial crew test flight
The dual-engine Centaur upper stage assigned to the first launch of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is transported from ULA’s Mariner vessel to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Friday. Credit: NASA/Chris Chamberland The Centaur upper stage destined to send Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner crew capsule into orbit on its first unpiloted test flight next year has…
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Boeing delays crew capsule test flights after abort engine problem
The upper and lower domes of the CST-100 Starliner which will carry the vehicle’s first crew into orbit were mated June 19 inside Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This vehicle is known as Spacecraft 2 in Boeing’s fleet. Credit: Boeing Boeing has reshuffled a sequence of…
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RL10 engine – pushing towards 60 years of service – to live on with Vulcan
Aerojet Rocketdyne’s RL10 engine is continuing to beat out its younger competitors, winning another future role as the upper stage engine for the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan/Centaur rocket. The engine is no strange to ULA, providing a key role with both of its Delta IV and Atlas V rockets that Vulcan will eventually replace.…
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United Launch Alliance picks Aerojet’s RL10 rocket engine for Vulcan upper stage
Aerojet Rocketdyne has successfully tested a full-scale, 3-D-printed thrust chamber assembly for its workhorse RL-10 rocket engine. (Aerojet Rocketdyne Photo) United Launch Alliance has chosen Aerojet Rocketdyne over Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture to provide the upper-stage rocket engine for its next-generation Vulcan launch vehicle. But the suspense continues in the bigger…
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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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ULA chief says Blue Origin in driver’s seat for Vulcan engine deal
The first fully-assembled BE-4 engine. Credit: Blue Origin A full-scale BE-4 engine developed by Blue Origin, the space company founded by Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos, is installed on a test stand in West Texas for a series of hotfire tests that United Launch Alliance will closely examine before settling on the reusable methane-fueled engine for its…
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Atlas V green light after RL-10 is exonerated during Delta IV anomaly review
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) are clear to resume launches of their Atlas V rocket, after a review into an anomaly with their Delta IV Upper Stage, during the launch of the GPS IIF-3 satellite, reached a key stage. The green light allows for launches of the Atlas V – which shares commonality via the…
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Atlas V finally launches with MUOS – Centaur celebrates milestone
United Launch Alliance’s Altas V has launched at the third attempt on Friday at 5:15pm Eastern, lofting the first of five U.S. Navy’s Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). The successful mission also marked the 200th launch of a Centaur upper stage. FIRST ATTEMPT SCRUB: With…