Ars Technica’s Eric Berger reports that United Launch Alliance has informed interested parties that it is up for sale, potentially throwing the entire industry upside down.
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.
When spacecraft reenter, they need a heat shield to protect them from the immense friction and heat of speeding through the atmosphere. Usually, these are rigid structures, but ULA plans to use an inflatable heat shield to protect the engines of their Vulcan rocket and recover them for reuse. They’ll be testing out that type of heat shield next month.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 531 is set to launch the SES 20 and 21 satellites at 5:36 p.m. EDT on October 4, 2022. These two satellites will be operated by SES of Luxembourg and provide TV broadcasting service across the continental United States.
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.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 421 rocket will launch the sixth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (SBIRS GEO-6) mission for the United States Space Force’s Space Systems Command to a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. The target liftoff time is no earlier than 6:29 a.m. EDT on August 4, 2022, from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket will launch the USSF-12 mission for the United States Space Force’s Space Systems Command to a Geosynchronous Orbit. The target liftoff time is no earlier than 6 p.m. EDT on June 30, 2022, from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
United Launch Alliance is preparing for the debut flight of its next generation rocket called Vulcan. There are certain developments to follow, however, while the first mission date awaits hardware readiness.
Everyone loves a good engine shot, and Bezos and Bruno are probably especially enjoying this one. Blue Origin shared shots of its BE-4 rocket engine in an important test phase today. Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos is awaiting engine readiness before his company’s New Glenn rocket can take flight, and United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno needs BE-4 engines for its Vulcan Centaur system.
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:
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V N22 rocket will launch the Boeing CST-100 Starliner capsule to the International Space Station for its second test flight. The target liftoff time is 6:54 PM EDT on May 19, 2022, from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
You might be familiar with the LC-39A Observation Gantry if you’re an avid launch viewer. For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began back in 2020, the visitor complex is offering tickets to view a rocket launch from there.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 is set to launch the GOES-T weather satellite at 4:38 p.m. EST on March 1, 2022. This NOAA satellite will replace the existing GOES-17 (West) satellite which has had issues with its Advanced Baseline Imager.
In a four-minute “How It’s Made” style video, ULA takes viewers inside its Decatur, Alabama rocket factory to see where the company makes its Delta, Atlas, and Vulcan rockets.
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.
Friday afternoon United Launch Alliance is preparing to launch two satellites directly to geosynchronous orbit for the U.S. Space Force. The USSF-8 mission will be the only Atlas V to fly the 511 configuration and is ULA’s first flight of 2022.
Launch Date: Friday, January 21, 2:00 p.m. EST
Early Tuesday morning United Launch Alliance launched its fourth and final Atlas V rocket of 2021. For STP-3, it was ULA’s largest variant with five solid rocket motors.
United Launch Alliance is scheduled to conduct the third Space Test Program mission, or STP-3, for the Space Force’s Space Systems Command in the early hours of Tuesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Here’s how to the ULA’s Atlas V rocket launch.
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
This week Astra launched their 5th test rocket which didn’t reach orbit again, both SpaceX and Blue Origin launched missions for NASA, and emails possibly leaked from ULA show their dark side.
Six internal emails were leaked this week that share statements from United Launch Alliance Vice President Robbie Sabathier to a lobbyist about NASA’s “incompetent” leaders and favoritism towards SpaceX.
The emails leaked from the ULA employee also contain wild speculation that contracts awarded to SpaceX by NASA were tied to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s inferred support for former President Trump.
The Colorado-based launch provider United Launch Alliance has reportedly required its employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of October, according to an internal email to ULA employees.
Update: In a press conference Boeing and NASA detailed why they will be moving Starliner back to their factory and the next possible launch opportunities.
The ongoing saga that is Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft takes another unfortunate turn today. Boeing has announced that it will return Starliner to its factory after experiencing hardware issues that prevented a launch attempt.
You don’t have to spend much time on Space Twitter or Reddit to stumble upon a few dozen “Where are my engines, Jeff?” memes. Ars Technica recently took a shot at finding the answer to why Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines are delayed.
Update: A few hours before launch Boeing announced that the launch was postponed due to issues with “unexpected valve position indications” used in the propulsion system.
After the missed opportunity to dock with the International Space Station due to a timer issue on its first flight a second test flight was needed. Boeing will be performing their second orbital flight test for their Starliner crew capsule as soon as Friday to dock with the ISS. This will also serve as the final test before NASA puts crew onboard to determine if it’s ready.
Date: Tuesday, August 3rd at 1:20 p.m. EDT
SpaceX Starship will officially be the single solution for the first lunar landing mission under NASA’s Artemis program to return to the Moon. This comes after the US GAO backed the decision to use Starship as the lander, stating it didn’t break any laws with the selection. The space agency first announced its decision to land astronauts on the Moon with SpaceX in April, but legal protests from the Blue Origin-led National Team and Dynetics halted progress for the contract.
NASA and Boeing will attempt to launch the Starliner Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2) mission on July 30th at 2:53 PM EDT. This comes after a successful Flight Readiness Review today.
NASA Astronaut Matthew Dominick visited ULA’s SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to check out Starliner and shared an interesting photo of the VIF’s floors.
Boeing’s Starliner Capsule for Orbital Flight Test 2 began its rollout from the company’s processing facility to ULA’s vertical integration facility. The capsule has been secured to the Atlas V rocket which will launch it to the International Space Station at the end of the month.
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.
It’s a slow process but NASA is stacking their first Space Launch System rocket in the VAB at Kennedy Space Center. The newest part was just stacked in the last few days.
So this happened today. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk responded to a Vulcan rocket teaser video from ULA CEO Tory Bruno with a slightly provocative “when do the engines arrive” response. Without mentioning Blue Origin, the taunt is mostly targeted at Jeff Bezos’ rocket company.
CEO of United Launch Alliance Tory Bruno has shared a timelapse of a key piece of ULA’s Vulcan rocket as it gets ready to start testing.
SpaceX has had great success recovering and reusing their payload fairings. In contrast, ULA doesn’t recover or reuse them, but according to CEO Tory Bruno, ULA seriously considered implementing fairing reuse, but the economics didn’t make sense.
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.
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.
We’ve all been waiting on the debut of United Launch Alliance’s brand new Vulcan rocket, the rightful successor to the Atlas V and Delta IV. But we might have to wait a little long for a payload to be ready to fly on the first mission.
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.
May 18th, 2:19 PM EDT: The SBIRS GEO 5 satellite has been deployed from the Centaur upper stage.
A few weeks ago, ULA conducted their first launch for 2021 with a launch of a Delta IV Heavy for the National Reconnaissance Office. Next week, ULA plans to launch the first Atlas V rocket of the year carrying a payload for the US Space Force.
Date: Monday, May 18th, 1:37 PM EDT
ULA’s next mission and first of 2021, NROL-82 is a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office and is launching on top of the large Delta IV Heavy rocket. This will end up being the first launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, the prime spaceport for polar launches.
Date: Monday, April 26, 4:47 PM EDT
In a time where we routinely see launches on rockets named Atlas, Falcon, and Electron, the Delta IV Heavy is a rare bird for a number of reasons. United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy, as its name implies, is the company’s heavy lift launch vehicle.
It’s the big brother of the Delta IV medium that has since been retired and had its last flight in August 2019. In fact, the heavy variant of the Delta IV series is on its way out as well: ULA’s new Vulcan rocket system will pick up where Delta IV Heavy leaves off.
Amazon’s answer to SpaceX’s satellite-based Starlink internet service is called Project Kuiper, and now the company has secured flights on ULA’s Atlas V rocket. These launches will be the first of many to build out the constellation of 3,236 satellites.
SpaceX isn’t the only company that employs a fleet of ships to help with launching their rockets to space. United Launch Alliance also has a ship built to transport its rockets from their facilities along the Mississippi River to the company’s launch sites on the east and west coasts.
United Launch Alliance (ULA), the defense contractor that has provided the rockets for some of the most important scientific and strategic missions for the US Government released a 7-part podcast for their new rocket.
The Visitor Complex at Kennedy Space Center has reopened one of its must-see exhibits and just unveiled the Delta II display! With the Coronavirus still very much a hazard, the KSC Visitor Complex has implemented new procedures to keep you safe while still being able to see the amazing Saturn V. Additionally, the latest addition to the Rocket Garden was officially unveiled today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The new rocket built to be able to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and give ULA an increase in launch capability is getting very close to its first launch. The new fairings are the latest in parts beginning final testing.
