Atlas 5 – Spaceflight Now

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.

Technical snags force another delay for Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule

June 1, 2023 Stephen Clark

Boeing and NASA officials said Thursday the first launch of astronauts on Boeing’s delay-prone Starliner crew capsule won’t happen in July after engineers recently discovered a problem with the spacecraft’s parachute system and identified flammable tape around wiring harnesses inside the vehicle.

United Launch Alliance nears first fueling test on Vulcan rocket

May 21, 2021 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance could load cryogenic methane and liquid oxygen propellants into a Vulcan rocket test article at Cape Canaveral for the first time in the coming weeks, timing key tests for the next-generation rocket in between flights of Atlas 5 rockets that will share the same launch complex for the next few years.

Photos: ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral

May 19, 2021 Stephen Clark

Carrying a sophisticated billion-dollar missile detection satellite for the U.S. military, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday with 1.6 million pounds of thrust from a Russian RD-180 main engine and twin solid rocket boosters.

Atlas 5 rocket launches infrared missile detection satellite for U.S. Space Force

May 18, 2021 Stephen Clark

An upgraded, cyber-hardened $1 billion satellite to support the U.S. military’s missile defense systems rode into orbit from Cape Canaveral Tuesday at the tip of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

Problem during fueling preps forces Atlas 5 launch delay

May 17, 2021 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance called off a launch attempt Monday after hitting a snag during preparations to fill an Atlas 5 rocket with cryogenic propellants at Cape Canaveral, delaying the liftoff of a new U.S. Space Force infrared surveillance satellite until no earlier than Tuesday.

Live coverage: Atlas 5 launches with missile warning satellite for U.S. military

May 17, 2021 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance launched the U.S. military’s SBIRS GEO 5 early warning satellite into orbit aboard an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. A launch attempt Monday was scrubbed during fueling preps due to a faulty temperature sensor. Liftoff of ULA’s workhorse rocket, fitted with two strap-on solid-fueled boosters, occurred at 1:37 p.m. EDT (1737 GMT).

Atlas 5/SBIRS GEO 5 launch timeline

May 17, 2021 Stephen Clark

This is the launch timeline to be followed by the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent into orbit from Cape Canaveral with the SBIRS GEO 5 satellite for U.S. military infrared reconnaissance.

Photos: Atlas 5 ready for liftoff with SBIRS GEO 5

May 16, 2021 Stephen Clark

These photos show a 194-foot-tall United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket standing on pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in advance of a planned launch with the U.S. Space Force’s fifth SBIRS missile warning satellite.