Atlas 5 – Page 52 – Spaceflight Now

United Launch Alliance’s high-tempo year begins with GPS launch Friday

February 2, 2016 Justin Ray

Kicking off United Launch Alliance’s ambitious 2016 with as many as 15 launches planned for the U.S. military, intelligence community, NASA and commercial clients, an Atlas 5 rocket will thunder to orbit Friday to deploy the last satellite in the current generation of GPS navigation spacecraft.

Photos: GPS 2F-12 navigation spacecraft readied for launch

February 2, 2016 Justin Ray

This collection of photographs shows the Air Force’s Global Positioning System 2F-12 navigation satellite being encapsulated in the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 nose cone and hoisted atop the rocket for flight on Friday morning.

Atlas 5/GPS 2F-12 launch timeline

February 2, 2016 Justin Ray

Follow the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent into orbit from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad with the U.S. Air Force’s GPS 2F-12 navigation satellite. Launch is scheduled for Friday at 8:38 a.m. EST (1338 GMT).

GPS satellite moves to Atlas 5 facility for launch next Friday

January 30, 2016 Justin Ray

After a quarter-century readying Global Positioning System satellites for launch at a Cape Canaveral Air Force Station processing hub, the final bird rolled out Saturday as the navigation program transitions to a new era.

Cygnus sections arrive in Florida for next space station cargo launch

January 22, 2016 Justin Ray

Elements of the next U.S. commercial cargo-delivery trip to the International Space Station are coming together at Kennedy Space Center for the planned March 10 liftoff.

Bridging the past and future on the shoulders of the Atlas rocket

January 19, 2016 Justin Ray

On top of an Atlas rocket, the place where orbital spaceflight for American astronauts began, will sit Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to launch humans into space starting next year.

Oldest GPS navigation satellite to be retired with next launch

January 11, 2016 Justin Ray

A new Global Positioning System craft will ride a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket into orbit next month to replace a satellite that has operated in space for 25 years.

Florida spaceport tallies highest launch rate in more than a decade

January 4, 2016 Stephen Clark

Cape Canaveral was the departure point for more space launches in 2015 than in any year since 2003, with 17 takeoffs by Atlas, Falcon and Delta rockets hoisting U.S. military satellites, commercial payloads and cargo for the International Space Station.

2016 manifest preview: United Launch Alliance’s busy year ahead

January 2, 2016 Justin Ray

Some of America’s most critical surveillance satellites, final members of other spacecraft series and a probe that will touch an asteroid are among 15 rocket flights planned by United Launch Alliance in 2016.

Russian engine purchase adds to ULA’s Atlas 5 inventory

December 30, 2015 Stephen Clark

Freed from a legal restriction officials said limited its ability to compete for future U.S. military satellite launches, United Launch Alliance has ordered 20 new RD-180 engines from Russia that will keep the Atlas 5 rocket flying into the early 2020s.