Atlas 5 – Page 16 – Spaceflight Now

Mars 2020 rover on track for launch next July

July 31, 2019 Stephen Clark

The launch of NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is less than a year away, and the steady pace of work inside the craft’s pristine assembly hall in California is keeping the mission on schedule for liftoff from Cape Canaveral next July, despite growing costs, according to mission managers.

ULA delays Atlas 5 launch to August

July 11, 2019 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance is pushing back its next Atlas 5 launch from Cape Canaveral until no earlier than Aug. 8, allowing time for engineers to ensure an unspecified anomaly during component testing at a supplier will have no impact on the Atlas 5’s mission to place a U.S. Air Force communications satellite into orbit.

Next Atlas 5 launch delayed by battery failure

June 23, 2019 Stephen Clark

The next launch of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket with the U.S. Air Force’s fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite, previously scheduled for Thursday, has been delayed to no earlier than July 12 to replace a failed battery on the vehicle.

Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule completes major propulsion test

May 25, 2019 Stephen Clark

Boeing engineers have completed hotfire testing on a flight-like model of the Starliner crew capsule, clearing a major hurdle before a pad abort test and a demonstration flight to the International Space Station later this summer, Boeing announced Friday.

ULA begins stacking Atlas 5 rocket for late June launch

May 20, 2019 Stephen Clark

The bronze first stage of United Launch Alliance’s next Atlas 5 rocket arrived at its Cape Canaveral launch pad Friday, where it will be joined by five solid-fueled boosters, a Centaur upper stage and a U.S. Air Force communications satellite in the coming weeks ahead of liftoff set for June 27.

NASA, ULA find launch opportunity for inflatable heat shield demonstrator

May 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

A flight demonstration of an inflatable heat shield that could be used to retrieve reusable engines from United Launch Alliance’s next-generation Vulcan rocket, and for the delivery of heavier cargo to the surface of Mars, is planned for launch in late 2021 or early 2022 as a piggyback payload on an Atlas 5 rocket with a NOAA weather satellite.

Atlas 5 rocket, U.S. Air Force satellite arrive at Cape Canaveral for June launch

April 26, 2019 Stephen Clark

Atlas 5 rocket hardware and a U.S. Air Force communications satellite have arrived at Cape Canaveral for United Launch Alliance’s next mission, scheduled for liftoff June 27.

Boeing delays first Starliner test flight to August, NASA extends duration of first crew mission

April 2, 2019 Stephen Clark

Boeing said Tuesday the first orbital test flight of its commercial crew capsule, named the Starliner, will be delayed until August “in order to avoid unnecessary schedule pressure” and give priority on the Atlas 5 rocket’s manifest to a U.S. Air Force communications satellite. NASA confirmed Wednesday that officials have approved an extension of the Starliner’s first crewed mission to last up to several months.

SpaceX, ULA win military contracts, Air Force renames EELV program

March 7, 2019 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance and SpaceX recently won contracts worth $739 million to send six missions into orbit for the U.S. military, and the Air Force has announced a new title for its flagship launcher program, dropping “expendable” from the name in a new era of reusable rockets.

SpaceX files protest of NASA’s Lucy launch contract awarded to ULA

February 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX has filed a protest challenging a nearly $150 million NASA contract awarded to United Launch Alliance last month to send a robotic asteroid probe into space.