Atlas 5 – Page 7 – Spaceflight Now

Photos: Mars rover encapsulated for launch, mated with Atlas 5 rocket

July 10, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Perseverance rover, contained inside its aeroshell for a searing plunge into the Martian atmosphere next year, has been cocooned inside the payload shroud of its Atlas 5 launcher and mated with the rocket ahead of liftoff from Cape Canaveral scheduled for July 30.

Mars rover mated with Atlas 5 launcher after teams deal with coronavirus cases

July 9, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has been hoisted on top of its United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral for liftoff this month, passing a major pre-launch milestone after teams repaired a small leak on the launch vehicle and overcame delays caused by coronavirus cases among staff working on the mission.

NASA outlines recommendations to clear path for Boeing to resume Starliner flights

July 7, 2020 William Harwood

NASA has completed an exhaustive review of software problems and procedural oversights that prevented an unpiloted Boeing Starliner capsule from docking with the space station last year. The agency is implementing 80 recommendations to clear the way for a second test flight later this year and, if all goes well, Boeing’s first piloted flight next spring, officials said Tuesday.

NASA delays Mars rover launch to no earlier than July 30

June 30, 2020 Stephen Clark

A technical issue with the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket that will send NASA’s $2.4 billion Perseverance rover toward Mars has pushed the mission’s launch date back to no earlier than July 30, nearly two weeks into a month-long window for the rover to head to the Red Planet, or else face a two-year delay.

Launch of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover delayed to July 22

June 24, 2020 Stephen Clark

The launch of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has been delayed two days to July 22 after an issue with ground support equipment at the Kennedy Space Center held up encapsulation of the spacecraft inside the payload fairing of its Atlas 5 rocket.

Atlas 5 rocket runs through practice countdown before Mars rover launch

June 22, 2020 Stephen Clark

The Atlas 5 rocket that will send NASA’s Perseverance rover toward Mars next month aced a countdown rehearsal Monday at Cape Canaveral, helping ensure the United Launch Alliance-built rocket is ready for liftoff during the rover’s 23-day launch window.

Photos: NASA’s Perseverance rover buttoned up for launch

June 17, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Perseverance rover has been closed up inside its protective aeroshell, the structure that will protect the spacecraft when it plunges into the Martian atmosphere, in preparation for launch no earlier than July 20 from Cape Canaveral.

Fitted with super-clean sample tubes, NASA’s next Mars rover nears launch date

June 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

The Perseverance rover’s sterilized sample tubes — designed to seal Martian rock and sediment for eventual return to Earth — are installed on the spacecraft as teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center prepare to enclose the rover inside the payload shroud of its Atlas 5 launcher for liftoff July 20.

After crane problem, ULA caps build-up of Atlas 5 rocket for Mars rover launch

June 12, 2020 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance has completed stacking of the major elements of the Atlas 5 rocket assigned to power NASA’s Perseverance rover toward Mars, but the mission’s launch date has been pushed back three days to July 20 after teams repaired an issue with a crane in the Atlas 5’s assembly building.

Assembly of Mars rover’s rocket to begin this week

May 24, 2020 Stephen Clark

Two key pieces of hardware needed for NASA’s next Mars rover — an Atlas rocket booster and sterile components of the rover’s sample collection system — recently arrived at Cape Canaveral ahead of the mission’s scheduled launch July 17.