United Launch Alliance – Spaceflight Now

Final ‘single stick’ Delta 4-Medium rocket arrives at Florida launch pad

June 7, 2019

Ground crews finished the initial build-up of the last “single stick” medium-lift variant of United Launch Alliance’s Delta 4 rocket on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral last week in preparation for liftoff with a GPS navigation satellite July 25.

NASA picks three companies to send commercial landers to the moon

June 4, 2019

NASA has announced that Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines and OrbitBeyond won contracts to deliver science instruments and technology demonstration payloads to the moon’s surface in the first of a series of robotic missions preceding a human return to the moon.

Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule completes major propulsion test

May 25, 2019

Boeing engineers have completed hotfire testing on a flight-like model of the Starliner crew capsule, clearing a major hurdle before a pad abort test and a demonstration flight to the International Space Station later this summer, Boeing announced Friday.

ULA begins stacking Atlas 5 rocket for late June launch

May 20, 2019

The bronze first stage of United Launch Alliance’s next Atlas 5 rocket arrived at its Cape Canaveral launch pad Friday, where it will be joined by five solid-fueled boosters, a Centaur upper stage and a U.S. Air Force communications satellite in the coming weeks ahead of liftoff set for June 27.

NASA, ULA find launch opportunity for inflatable heat shield demonstrator

May 13, 2019

A flight demonstration of an inflatable heat shield that could be used to retrieve reusable engines from United Launch Alliance’s next-generation Vulcan rocket, and for the delivery of heavier cargo to the surface of Mars, is planned for launch in late 2021 or early 2022 as a piggyback payload on an Atlas 5 rocket with a NOAA weather satellite.

Atlas 5 rocket, U.S. Air Force satellite arrive at Cape Canaveral for June launch

April 26, 2019

Atlas 5 rocket hardware and a U.S. Air Force communications satellite have arrived at Cape Canaveral for United Launch Alliance’s next mission, scheduled for liftoff June 27.

Boeing delays first Starliner test flight to August, NASA extends duration of first crew mission

April 2, 2019

Boeing said Tuesday the first orbital test flight of its commercial crew capsule, named the Starliner, will be delayed until August “in order to avoid unnecessary schedule pressure” and give priority on the Atlas 5 rocket’s manifest to a U.S. Air Force communications satellite. NASA confirmed Wednesday that officials have approved an extension of the Starliner’s first crewed mission to last up to several months.

Photos: Delta 4 rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral

March 20, 2019

A hydrogen-fueled main engine and four solid rocket boosters combined to propel a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket off its launch pad at Cape Canaveral on March 15, successfully sending a U.S. Air Force communications satellite into orbit.

Delta 4 rocket launches Air Force’s 10th WGS broadband satellite

March 16, 2019

United Launch Alliance placed a new satellite in orbit with a fiery Friday night blastoff from Cape Canaveral, using a version of the Delta 4 rocket that is nearing retirement to supplement a U.S. military network relaying signals from drones and battlefield commanders.

Delta 4 rocket’s launch timeline with WGS 10

March 15, 2019

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will deliver the U.S. Air Force’s tenth Wideband Global SATCOM communications satellite to a supersynchronous transfer orbit around 37 minutes after lifting off from Cape Canaveral.