Atlas 5 – Spaceflight Now

Aerojet Rocketdyne, ULA mark 60th anniversary of RL10 rocket engine

November 28, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

A rocket engine with a long pedigree marked a big milestone on Monday. It’s 60 years since the hydrogen-fueled RL10 engine debuted onboard a Centaur upper stage launched from Cape Canaveral on Nov. 27, 1963.

Atlas 5 launches Amazon Kuiper satellites for tests of space-based internet service

October 7, 2023 William Harwood

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasted off Friday and boosted a pair of prototype internet satellites into orbit for Amazon’s Kuiper program, the latest entry in the increasingly competitive space-based broadband market currently dominated by SpaceX.

Atlas 5 delivers first Amazon internet satellites to orbit on Friday

October 5, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

Amazon is getting its own delivery fulfilled this Friday, adding to an extensive portfolio that includes its online marketplace, streaming video, grocery and cloud services, with the launch of two prototype relay stations for a space-based internet service it calls Project Kuiper.

Most powerful Atlas 5 rocket launches national security mission

September 10, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket supporting the NROL-107 mission for the Silentbarker program launched Sunday, Sept. 10 at 8:47 a.m. EDT (1247 UTC) from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Atlas 5 rocket returns to pad for spy satellite agency launch from Cape Canaveral

September 8, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket made its way back to the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday morning for a mission carrying national security mission payloads, collectively codenamed Silentbarker. Liftoff has been rescheduled for at 8:47 a.m. EDT (1247 UTC).

Tropical Storm Idalia delays national security Atlas 5 launch from Cape Canaveral

August 29, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

A tropical storm barreling towards the Florida peninsula caused United Launch Alliance (ULA) to stand down from an Atlas 5 launch planned for Tuesday on a mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Amazon to launch first Kuiper satellites on ULA Atlas 5 rocket following Vulcan delays

August 7, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The opening salvo in Amazon’s 3,236-satellite Project Kuiper venture is switching its ride to space. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed in a statement to Spaceflight Now on Monday that the first two demonstration satellites for the broadband constellation will launch on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket as soon as Sept. 26, 2023, instead of the inaugural Vulcan rocket.

First flight of astronauts on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft slips to July

March 29, 2023 William Harwood

The first piloted flight of Boeing’s Starliner astronaut ferry ship is slipping from late April to at least July 21, officials said Wednesday, to allow more time to close out paperwork and to carry out an additional test of the spacecraft’s parachute deploy system.

Military officials forecast 87 launches from Florida’s Space Coast in 2023

January 2, 2023 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Space Force is preparing for as many as 87 launches from Florida’s Space Coast in 2023, including dozens more SpaceX missions and the expected debuts of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan and Relativity’s Terran 1 rockets.

Atlas 5 rocket moves closer to retirement with final launch from California

November 10, 2022 Stephen Clark

The 301st and final Atlas rocket to launch from California blasted off Thursday with a NOAA weather satellite and a first-of-its-kind re-entry tech demo experiment, clearing the way for modifications to ready the Atlas launch pad for United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket.