Atlas V

Begun, the low Earth orbit satellite internet wars have – Yoda’s line sounded way more epic.

After potential delays pushing the flight of the satellite into next year, Amazon took advantage of one of its Atlas rockets to launch its first two Kuiper internet satellites to begin testing its service. This ended up being the third launch by ULA for 2023 and the 99th flight overall for the Atlas V.

ULA is prepared to launch the first batch of Amazon Kuiper test satellites into orbit on the final Atlas V 501 rocket. The satellites, which were initially intended for Vulcan, have been mated with the rocket and enclosed in its payload fairing. Project Kuiper’s “Protoflight” mission is set to launch Friday with a window opening up at 2:00 P.M.

Amazon is switching rockets for its inaugural Kuiper satellite launch while maintaining the same launch provider. In late September, two Kuiper test satellites are set to be launched into orbit aboard the second Atlas V launch of the year.

Early November 10, ULA launched an Atlas V from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Station. The mission carried JPSS-2 and an inflatable decelerator to prove the systems to and gather data on this unique type of heat shield.

While Cape Canaveral is no stranger to a high launch cadence, last week the Cape saw something it hasn’t seen in decades – two launches on the same day. On the early morning of August 4, ULA launched SBIRS GEO-6, then in the evening, SpaceX launched KPLO.

Yesterday, ULA launched an Atlas V rocket from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The rocket carried Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner capsule towards the International Space Station for an uncrewed test flight. Check out the Space Explored team’s picture gallery of OFT-2:

Today United Launch Alliance launched its first mission of 2022, and the final unflown configuration of the Atlas V rocket. Onboard were two space surveillance satellites for the US Space Force.

NASA and United Launch Alliance launched the Lucy spacecraft in an early morning liftoff beginning its journey the Trojan asteroids.

NASA’s Lucy mission is preparing to launch a daring mission to visit both sets of Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. These asteroids lead and follow the gas giant in its orbit, and experts believe they will help answer how planets are formed. Read below for updates on the launch of NASA’s Lucy mission.

Date: Saturday, October 16, 5:34 a.m. EDT

NASA will launch their Landsat 9 Earth-imaging satellite to continue the longest-running Earth-imaging satellite program, which began in the 1970s. Landsat 9 will launch on a ULA Atlas V rocket from their west coast launch facilities. The mission will replace Landsat 7, which launched back in 1999. Follow along with live updates on the Landsat 9 launch below.

Date: Monday, September 27 2:12 p.m. EDT

Recently, an Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft believed to be carrying an Atlas V booster took off from Huntsville, Alabama on its way to Lompoc, California.

United Launch Alliance loaded an Atlas V Booster and Dual Engine Centaur onto their Rocketship boat over the weekend. Its destination? Florida. This isn’t just any ordinary Atlas V though, this will be the first one to carry crew to space. The Boeing Starliner Crewed Flight Test (CFT) is still expected NET late 2021. However, a second Orbital Flight Test is needed.

UPDATE: ULA Begins OFT-2 Booster Stacking

UPDATE: RL-10C not to be used for upcoming Atlas missions

An Atlas V booster and Dual Engine Centaur have arrived at the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center (ASOC) after being offloaded from the Rocketship transport vessel. Spaceflight media was invited to attend the event to provide coverage. This is the third human-rated Atlas V rocket to be delivered to the Cape, with the first being stacked ahead of the Orbital Flight Test 2.

On Tuesday United Launch Alliance launch their first Atlas V rocket of the year. This mission carried with it a missile detection satellite called SBIRS GEO 5 for the United States Space Force.