Tag: United Launch Alliance
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ULA’s Atlas V launches satellite-inspection mission for Space Force
United Launch Alliance carried out an Atlas V launch Friday with the third pair of GSSAP satellites for the US Space Force. Flying in its never-before-used 511 configuration, Atlas lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 2:00 PM EST (19:00 UTC) for a lengthy mission that injected the satellites into a near-geostationary orbit.…
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Vulcan continues path to its maiden launch as ULA turns 15
On December 14, 2006, a Delta II rocket launched from VAFB (Vandenberg Air Force Base) SLC-2 (Space Launch Complex 2) on the NROL-21 mission. This launch marked the first mission for ULA (United Launch Alliance) and the beginning of its 15-year history. The Delta rocket family has three more launches before being phased out with…
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ULA launches Atlas V on long duration mission for Space Force
ULA (United Launch Alliance) launched its 90th flight with an Atlas V rocket and its fifth and final mission of 2021. Launching from SLC-41 (Space Launch Complex 41) in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the STP-3 mission is lofting two experimental satellites for the United States Space Force. The mission will also test several new technologies onboard…
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Space Force awards $87.5M to Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, SpaceX and ULA for testing
An artist’s conception shows Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on the rise. (Blue Origin Illustration) The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command today announced awards totaling $87.5 million to support prototype commercial projects relating to next-generation rocket testing and enhancements to make upper stages more resilient. The awards were made under the aegis of the…
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Amazon picks the rocket that’ll launch the first Kuiper satellites — and it’s not from Blue Origin
An illustration shows an Atlas V rocket launching Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites. (ULA / Amazon) United Launch Alliance says it’s struck a deal for a series of nine launches of its Atlas V rocket to send satellites into low Earth orbit for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband internet constellation. Amazon emphasized that this is just the…
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ULA delivers Vulcan test article to Cape Canaveral for ‘pathfinder’ operations
EDITOR’S NOTE: See additional photos of the Vulcan booster at the bottom of this page. The Vulcan booster for the Pathfinder Tanking Test arrives at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Saturday. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now United Launch Alliance’s first full-scale Vulcan booster with two Blue Origin BE-4 engines arrived at Cape Canaveral Space…
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Jeff Bezos kicks back with full-thrust firing of Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine in Texas
Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine lights up for a full-thrust test firing in Texas. (Jeff Bezos via Instagram) If you’re hanging out in West Texas during a pandemic, there are few fireworks shows more thrilling than a test firing of your very own rocket engine. At least that’s the way Blue Origin’s billionaire founder sees…
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Despite winning contract, SpaceX sticks with lawsuit against feds and rocket rivals
An automated camera documents the Falcon Heavy rocket’s first ascent from Kennedy Space Center in February 2018 with SpaceX’s hangar in the foreground. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota) Update: A federal district judge in California ruled against SpaceX and ordered its case against the Air Force to be vacated. The order was issued under seal…
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Liftoff! NASA’s Perseverance rover begins odyssey to seek out traces of life on Mars
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket sends NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover into space from its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (ULA Photo) With the fiery flash of a rocket launch, NASA’s Perseverance rover headed out today for what’s expected to be a decade-long campaign to store up and bring…
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Perseverance, Ingenuity begin seven month journey to Mars
United Launch Alliance has launched NASA’s latest mission to Mars: the Perseverance rover and accompanying Ingenuity helicopter. Liftoff of the third of our world’s three missions to Mars during the current interplanetary transfer window occurred Thursday, 30 July 2020 at the start of a two hour launch window that opens at 07:50 EDT. Mission history…