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