Autonomous Flight Safety System

Blustery weather keeps Atlas 5 rocket grounded, SpaceX launch slips to Tuesday

May 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

Gusty winds associated with a subtropical low pressure system prevented United Launch Alliance from sending an Atlas 5 rocket into orbit Saturday from Cape Canaveral with the U.S. Air Force’s clandestine X-37B spaceplane. ULA plans to try again Sunday, and a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from a nearby pad has been delayed to Tuesday.

Atlas 5 launch on track for Thursday, SpaceX mission expected to slip

February 27, 2018 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket is set to roll to its launch pad Wednesday at Cape Canaveral, a day before liftoff with a new-generation NOAA weather satellite. The launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a Spanish communications satellite is expected to be shuffled after the Atlas 5 flight in a rapid-fire launch sequence at the Florida spaceport this week.

Auto-destruct system seen as a key to ramping up launch tempos

February 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force says the demonstration of an automated safety system on last week’s Falcon 9 rocket launch will slash and costs and hasten turnarounds between missions from military-operated ranges in Florida and California.