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ULA to debut unflown variant of Atlas 5 rocket later this year
The last unflown variant of United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 launcher -- fitted with a five-meter fairing and a single strap-on solid rocket booster -- will carry a pair of U.S. military space surveillance satellites toward geosynchronous orbit from Cape Canaveral late this year, according to a Space Force spokesperson.
Atlas 5 blasts off with Solar Orbiter
Under a brilliant moon, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket flashed to life and vaulted away from Cape Canaveral late Sunday, boosting the European Space Agency's $1.5 billion Solar Orbiter probe out of Earth's gravitational grip toward a multi-year voyage around the sun that will give scientists their first glimpse of the star's poles.
Atlas 5/Solar Orbiter launch timeline
Follow the major events of the Atlas 5 rocket's launch with the Solar Orbiter spacecraft with this mission timeline.
VideoLive coverage: Atlas 5 launches from Cape Canaveral with Solar Orbiter
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad Sunday night with the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter mission, a project developed in partnership with NASA. Launch occurred right on time at the opening of a two-hour window at 11:03 p.m. EST Sunday (0403 GMT Monday).
Watch live video of the Solar Orbiter launch pad at Cape Canaveral (members only)
Watch live video of launch pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as an Atlas 5 rocket is prepared to launch the ESA's Solar Orbiter mission. The Atlas 5 rocket will be rolled from it's Vertical Inegration Building (VIF) to the pad on Saturday morning.
Decades in the making, Solar Orbiter finally meets launcher at Cape Canaveral
The European-built Solar Orbiter spacecraft was installed on top of its United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 launcher Friday at Cape Canaveral, ready for final charging and checkouts before liftoff Feb. 9 to finally begin a more than $1.5 billion science mission first approved by the European Space Agency nearly 20 years ago.
Solar Orbiter launch delayed to Feb. 7
Officials have delayed the launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket with the European-built Solar Orbiter spacecraft from Cape Canaveral by two days to Feb. 7, a ripple effect from time spent fixing a minor issue last week during a launch vehicle countdown dress rehearsal.
ULA team completes countdown practice run before Solar Orbiter launch
United Launch Alliance teams loaded super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into an Atlas 5 rocket Friday at Cape Canaveral during a countdown dress rehearsal for a planned launch next month with the Solar Orbiter mission, a robotic spacecraft to study the origins of the solar wind and image the sun's poles for the first time.
Photos: Solar Orbiter encapsulated inside launch shroud
The Airbus-built Solar Orbiter spacecraft has been closed up inside the payload fairing of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket in preparation for liftoff from Cape Canaveral in February on a joint mission between the European Space Agency and NASA.
Atlas 5 for Solar Orbiter launch returns to assembly building for inspections
United Launch Alliance moved its next Atlas 5 rocket off its Florida launch pad Wednesday for inspections after a cooling duct unexpectedly disconnected before a planned countdown rehearsal to prepare for liftoff next month with the joint U.S.-European Solar Orbiter mission. The roll back to the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad could delay Solar Orbiter's liftoff, which was scheduled for Feb. 5