Atlas – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX planning launch of two Falcon Heavy missions in summer and fall

February 15, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX plans two Falcon Heavy launches this year for the U.S. Space Force in July and October, and United Launch Alliance has four national security space missions on its 2021 schedule, according to a military spokesperson.

Photos: Final Delta 2 launch shines before dawn in California

September 21, 2018 Stephen Clark

Flying for the 155th and final time, a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket took off from California on Sept. 15 with NASA’s ICESat 2 satellite.

Leftover Delta 2 rocket to go on display at Kennedy Space Center

September 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance plans to assemble leftover parts for a Delta 2 rocket display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida alongside other icons of U.S. rocketry, the company announced Saturday soon after the final Delta 2 launch.

Early morning launch closes book on Delta 2 legacy spanning nearly 30 years

September 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket fired away from a California military base and disappeared into an overcast cloud deck Saturday on its final flight, carrying a NASA research satellite into orbit and closing the book on a nearly 30-year legacy of launches.

Engineers say goodbye to society-changing Delta 2 rocket

September 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

When the first Delta 2 rocket took off on Valentine’s Day 1989, ideas like navigating by smartphone and driving robots on Mars were science fiction. More than 150 launches over the last 30 years helped change all that.

Live coverage: Final Delta 2 rocket launches from California

September 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

The final flight of a Delta 2 rocket, a mainstay of the U.S. launch industry for nearly 30 years, began at 6:02 a.m. PDT (9:02 a.m. EDT; 1302 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with NASA’s ICESat 2 Earth science satellite.

Scientists eager to renew global ice measurements with ICESat 2 mission

September 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

The satellite awaiting launch early Saturday from California aboard the final flight of the venerable Delta 2 rocket should allow scientists to more precisely track changes in our planet’s ice sheets, using six green laser beams to chart the height and slope of polar ice and glaciers, providing a key input into climate change research.

Installation of ice-measuring satellite caps assembly of last Delta 2 rocket

August 28, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA’s ICESat 2 satellite has been bolted atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as ground teams prepare for the final liftoff of the workhorse launcher Sept. 15.

Saturn’s disk-shaped moon Atlas spotted by Cassini

April 16, 2017 Stephen Clark

One of Saturn’s peculiar moons has received an up-close look from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which sent back the best-ever pictures of Atlas, an object shaped like a flying saucer orbiting just outside the planet’s rings.

Atlas 2AS rocket puts TV satellite in space

March 3, 2016 Spaceflight Now

A Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 36B at Cape Canaveral on May 19, 2004, carrying the AMC-11 high-definition TV broadcasting satellite. It was the penultimate mission for the Atlas 2AS, which was fitted with four strap-on solid rocket boosters.