Photos: Final ULA mission of the year blasts off successfully

The announcement was made by Robert Lightfoot, the ULA Lockheed Martin Board Chair, in a statement on Monday. The board now begins a search for his permanent replacement.

SpaceX could use its Starship vehicles to clear out space debris in Earth orbit, alongside the program’s more publicized purpose of ferrying people and cargo to the moon and Mars, a company executive said.

United Launch Alliance is set to retire part of its rocket family Thursday with the final flight of the Delta 4 rocket’s “single stick” configuration, a mission set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral carrying a new GPS navigation satellite into orbit for the U.S. Air Force.