Atlas 5

Atlas 5 team scrubs launch to study troublesome valve

January 19, 2018 Stephen Clark

Launch of an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral with a U.S. Air Force infrared surveillance satellite was scrubbed Thursday evening after engineers encountered a balky valve associated with the first stage’s liquid oxygen system.

Atlas 5/SBIRS GEO Flight 4 launch timeline

January 18, 2018 Spaceflight Now

This is the launch timeline to be followed by the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent into orbit from Cape Canaveral with the SBIRS GEO Flight 4 satellite for U.S. military infrared reconnaissance.

Photos: Ground crews roll 75th Atlas 5 rocket to its launch pad

January 17, 2018 Stephen Clark

The 75th Atlas 5 rocket rolled to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral on Wednesday, a day before it was scheduled to lift off with a U.S. Air Force satellite to provide warnings of missile launches that might threaten U.S. territories and allies.

Lawmakers question safety, schedule for Boeing/SpaceX commercial crew ships

January 17, 2018 William Harwood

Boeing and SpaceX hope to launch commercial crew ferry ships on long-awaited test flights later this year, but both companies face major challenges getting the spacecraft certified before late 2019 when seats aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft will no longer be easily available for NASA space station crews, officials told lawmakers Wednesday.

Live coverage: Atlas 5 launches from Cape Canaveral with missile warning satellite

January 17, 2018 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force’s fourth new-generation SBIRS missile warning satellite is headed for geosynchronous orbit after lifting off from Cape Canaveral at 7:48 p.m. EST Friday (0048 GMT Saturday), after a one-day delay caused by a troublesome fill-and-drain valve.

Rocket and satellite preps on track for next Atlas 5 launch

December 29, 2017 Stephen Clark

Final assembly of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket slated to blast off Jan. 18 with a U.S. Air Force surveillance satellite designed to detect missile attacks has begun at the booster’s Cape Canaveral launch pad.

GOES-S weather satellite arrives in Florida for launch preparations

December 5, 2017 Stephen Clark

NOAA’s latest weather satellite, a new-generation geostationary observatory named GOES-S, landed at the Kennedy Space Center’s former space shuttle runway Monday aboard a U.S. Air Force transport jet, ready to begin final preparations for launch March 1 on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.