Tag: ULA
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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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ULA concludes six decades of Delta rocket flights with final Delta 4 Heavy mission
A ULA Delta 4 Heavy rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 37 on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. This was the 16th and final launch of a Delta 4 Heavy rocket. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now The second time was the charm for the finale of the Delta family of rockets. Following an issue with a…
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Delta IV Heavy launches on final mission
United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV rocket has successfully launched Tuesday on its final flight, the NROL-70 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. Liftoff from SLC-37B at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station has happened at 12:53 PM EDT (17:53 UTC) following a scrub on the initial attempt over a week ago. The launch marks the…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX continues high cadence
After SpaceX achieved a record-breaking 12 Falcon 9 launches in March, the company continued this cadence during the first week of April. Missions this week included a Starlink flight, a mystery-shrouded launch from China, then another three Falcon 9’s toward the end of the week — two more Starlinks and the first of a series…
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High winds, gaseous nitrogen pump failure force scrub of the final launch of Delta 4 Heavy minutes before liftoff
The final Delta 4 Heavy pictured on the eve of its final mission inside the Mobile Service Tower at Cape Canaveral’s pad 37. Photo: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now. Update 3:10 p.m. ET: ULA flight teams called a scrub of the mission at about T-00:03:58. United Launch Alliance will have to wait a bit longer before it…
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Launch Roundup: Delta IV Heavy swan song, Falcon 9 and Soyuz launches on tap for last week of March
A trio of Falcon 9 Starlink launches, a Falcon 9 non-Starlink launch involving an Eutelsat communications satellite, a Chinese launch, and a Russian Soyuz launch with a Resurs Earth observation satellite were scheduled for this week. However, the launch that will likely get the most attention is the final launch ever of a Delta family…
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Blue Origin has emerged as the likely buyer for United Launch Alliance
Blue Origin, the rocket company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has emerged as the sole finalist to buy United Launch Alliance. The sale is not official, and nothing has been formally announced. The co-owners of United Launch Alliance (ULA), Lockheed Martin and Boeing, have yet to comment publicly on the sale of the company,…
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‘Cleanest first flight,’ ULA president reflects on inaugural Vulcan launch and future of program
The inaugural Vulcan rocket, powered by two Blue Origin-built BE-4 engines, lifts off from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Jan. 8, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now United Launch Alliance entered an important new era for the company with the debut of its Vulcan rocket in early January. The flight was one that…
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After its impressive first flight, here’s what’s next for the Vulcan rocket
Early Monday morning, the hefty Vulcan rocket streaked into orbit for the first time, nailing its performance targets and delivering a substantial success to United Launch Alliance on the vehicle’s first test flight. Unfortunately for the mission’s primary customer, Astrobotic, there was subsequently an issue with the lunar lander’s propulsion system. However, Astrobotic was quick…
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ULA marks success with the inaugural mission of its Vulcan rocket launching a Moon-bound robotic lander
The inaugural Vulcan rocket leaps off the pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The booster was powered by the first pair of BE-4 engines to fly in space. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now With the company’s future riding on it, United Launch Alliance’s first Vulcan rocket successfully put a commercial robotic…