Tag: ULA
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ULA’s first mission with its Vulcan rocket slides to January launch window
ULA’s Vulcan rocket sits at the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) ahead of the start of a wet dress rehearsal tanking test on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. Image: ULA Update: Added additional context from social media posts from Tory Bruno confirming that the launch will move to January. The debut of United Launch…
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Aerojet Rocketdyne, ULA mark 60th anniversary of RL10 rocket engine
A Dual Engine Centaur upper stage for Atlas V nears completion at the factory in Decatur, Alabama. The RL10 engine marked 60 years of flight on Nov. 27, 2023. Image: United Launch Alliance A rocket engine with a long pedigree marked a big milestone on Monday. It’s 60 years since the hydrogen-fueled RL10 engine debuted…
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ULA chief on the Vulcan rocket: “The path to flight one is clear”
United Launch Alliance is closing in on the debut flight of the Vulcan rocket, and it remains on track to fly the vehicle for the first time on December 24. During a media roundtable on Wednesday afternoon, the chief executive of United Launch Alliance, Tory Bruno, said, “The path to flight one is clear” for…
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Sale of United Launch Alliance is nearing its end, with three potential buyers
Lockheed Martin and Boeing are close to selecting a buyer for United Launch Alliance, two sources told Ars. The jointly owned rocket company, which was founded in 2006 and for a time had a monopoly on US government launch contracts, has been up for sale most of this year. The sources say three buyers have…
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Capitol Hill budget battle may limit initial funding of some National Security Space Launch missions
A ULA Vulcan rocket during a testing campaign (left) and a Falcon Heavy rocket at liftoff (right). Both launch vehicles were tapped to launch National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions during the fifth and final ordering year procurement by the U.S. Space Systems Command. Images: ULA, SpaceX The U.S. Space Systems Command revealed the details…
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Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander arrives in Florida ahead of Christmas Eve Moon-bound launch
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander in the clean room at Astrotech in Titusville, Florida. The spacecraft will be the main payload onboard the first launch of ULA’s Vulcan rocket. Image: ULA The first payload teed up for NASA’s industry-led missions to the Moon has arrived in Florida. Astrobotic announced on Halloween that its Peregrine lunar lander…
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Atlas 5 delivers first Amazon internet satellites to orbit on Friday
Satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet constellation are hoisted up to integrate onto ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket. Image: ULA Update Oct. 6: The Atlas 5 rocket successfully lifted off on Friday afternoon at 2:06 p.m. EDT (1806 UTC). Shortly before 3 p.m. EDT (1900 UTC), ULA stated that they had “precisely” delivered the payload to…
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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…
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Tropical Storm Idalia delays national security Atlas 5 launch from Cape Canaveral
The Atlas 5 for the Silentbarker mission, pictured on the launch pad Monday. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now. A tropical storm barreling towards the Florida peninsula caused United Launch Alliance (ULA) to stand down from an Atlas 5 launch planned for Tuesday. Meteorologists forecast Tropical Storm Idalia to become a major Category 3 Hurricane by the…
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Final ICPS arrives in Florida for Artemis III SLS launch
United Launch Alliance (ULA) delivered the last-ever Space Launch System (SLS) Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) from its Decatur, Alabama, factory to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in early August for eventual use on the Artemis III lunar landing mission. ICPS-3 was also the last Delta hardware to depart Decatur and will support NASA’s…