United Launch Alliance said Friday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have no impact on the company’s Atlas 5 rocket program, which has 25 missions left to fly with Russian-made main engines before retirement. The launch provider said it has all the Russian engines it needs before transitioning to a replacement rocket.
President Biden said Thursday the United States is imposing new sanctions against Russia, including measures that will “degrade” the country’s space program, in response to Russian military attacks on Ukraine. So far, operations and training for future missions on the International Space Station are proceeding without interruption, according to NASA.
Rocket Lab’s next mission, targeted for no earlier than Feb. 28, will be the first from a new launch pad at the company’s private spaceport in New Zealand, an addition officials said could double the flight rate of Electron launchers. We spoke with Rocket Lab’s founder, Peter Beck, about the new launch pad.
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