Tag: United Launch Alliance
-
NROL-61 satellite launched Thursday spotted in space by sky-watchers
The Atlas 5 rocket lifts off with NROL-61. Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now CAPE CANAVERAL — Sky-watchers with a passion for looking up and tracking satellites with remarkable precision have made quick work of locating the spacecraft launched atop an Atlas 5 rocket on Thursday. The NROL-61 satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office was successfully deployed…
-
Delta 4 rocket undergoes launch day rehearsal for its next Air Force mission
CAPE CANAVERAL — A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket went through a practice countdown and fueling exercise this week to prepare for its Aug. 19 liftoff to deliver a pair of orbital surveillance satellites into space. Known as a Wet Dress Rehearsal, the test at Complex 37 was conducted on Wednesday, July 27, a…
-
After three-year wait, commercial imaging observatory shipped for launch
WorldView 4. Credit: Lockheed Martin More than three years after its launch was delayed by a corporate merger, a commercial Earth-imaging satellite has finally shipped to its California rocket base for liftoff aboard an Atlas 5 in September. The WorldView 4 spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, was moved this week from its factory in Sunnyvale…
-
Spy satellite infrastructure supported by successful Atlas 5 rocket launch
CAPE CANAVERAL — A clandestine satellite for the U.S. reconnaissance program was successfully launched by an Atlas 5 rocket today, riding a ferocious torrent of fire and smoke off the pad before disappearing behind a curtain of secrecy. The 194-foot-tall United Launch Alliance rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 at 8:37 a.m. EDT…
-
Photos: Atlas 5 powers away with NROL-61 payload
Launching the secretive NROL-61 payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket thundered away from Cape Canaveral today at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT). Credit: United Launch Alliance See earlier NROL-61 coverage. Our Atlas archive.
-
Photos: More shots of Thursday’s Atlas 5 rocket launch
Departing Cape Canaveral at 8:37 a.m. EDT Thursday, the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted a classified national security satellite into orbit for deployment. Photos by Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now See earlier NROL-61 coverage. Our Atlas archive.
-
Video: Liftoff of Atlas 5 on NROL-61 satellite deployment
The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, standing 194 feet tall and and weighing 950,000 pounds, unleashes 1.5 million pounds of thrust from its main engine and two side-mounted boosters at 8:37 a.m. EDT today to launch the National Reconnaissance Office’s NROL-61 satellite from Cape Canaveral. Video courtesy of United Launch Alliance See earlier NROL-61…
-
Atlas 5/NROL-61 launch timeline
Follow the unclassified portion of the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent to space from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad with the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office’s NROL-61 satellite. Launch is scheduled for Thursday at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT). T+00:01.1: Liftoff The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 vehicle, designated AV-065, will lift off and begin a…
-
Photos: Payload with whimsical logo painted on nose cone lifted atop Atlas
Already shrouded in the Atlas 5 rocket’s Extra Extended Payload Fairing (XEPF) aluminum nose cone, the National Reconnaissance Office’s NROL-61 satellite was delivered to Cape Canaveral’s Vertical Integration Facility on Tuesday, July 19 and lifted aboard the United Launch Alliance vehicle for flight. Launch is planned for Thursday, July 28 at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237…
-
Preview: New satellite for spy agency awaits launch into space Thursday
File photo of Atlas 5-421 rollout. Credit: ULA CAPE CANAVERAL — An Atlas 5 rocket carrying a classified national security satellite was rolled to the launch pad this morning for Thursday’s flight to bolster the U.S. intelligence-gathering space architecture. Liftoff will occur at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT). The duration of the day’s usable launch…