United Launch Alliance – Page 12

ULA delivers Delta 4-Heavy rocket to California launch base

April 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance’s rocket transport ship has delivered a Delta 4-Heavy rocket to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in preparation for launch of a U.S. government spy satellite late this year.

Ground teams fuel Perseverance rover landing system, attach Mars Helicopter

April 13, 2020 Stephen Clark

Working under the cloud of the global coronavirus pandemic, technicians and engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center have installed a rotor-driven drone on the agency’s next Mars rover and fueled the spacecraft’s “sky crane” landing system in preparation for launch in July.

Next GPS launch delayed by coronavirus concerns; X-37B launch remains on track

April 7, 2020 Stephen Clark

U.S. military officials said Tuesday the launch of the next satellite for the GPS navigation network — planned for April 29 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket — has been delayed to no earlier than June 30 to avoid exposing launch crews to the COVID-19 viral disease. However, the next launch of the military’s X-37B spaceplane remains on track for liftoff in May on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, officials said.

Space companies rally to supply medical equipment amid pandemic

April 7, 2020 Stephen Clark

While production of rockets and satellites continues across much of the space industry amid the coronavirus pandemic, engineers at several space companies — including SpaceX, Virgin Orbit and Blue Origin — have started working on medical devices and protective equipment in response to shortages in hospitals across the United States.

After problem-plagued test flight, Boeing will refly crew capsule without astronauts

April 6, 2020 Stephen Clark

Boeing officials said Monday the company’s Starliner crew capsule will fly a second time without astronauts after software problems and other issues plagued a first test flight in December, preventing the ship from reaching the International Space Station.

Photos: Atlas 5 soars into clear skies over Cape Canaveral

March 31, 2020 Stephen Clark

Propelled by five strap-on solid rocket boosters and a Russian-made kerosene-fueled RD-180 main engine, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on March 26 with the U.S. military’s sixth AEHF communications satellite.

Atlas 5 launch caps deployment of ultra-secure military communications network

March 26, 2020 Stephen Clark

The sixth and final satellite in the U.S. military’s most secure satellite communications fleet lifted off from Cape Canaveral Thursday aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, extending the network’s expected lifetime beyond 2030.

Atlas 5 launch timeline for the AEHF 6 mission

March 26, 2020 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Atlas 5 rocket is set to launch the U.S. Air Force’s sixth and final Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite from Cape Canaveral. This timeline shows the major mission events planned over a nearly six-hour flight to an optimized geostationary transfer orbit.

Photos: Atlas 5 rocket rolls out to launch pad at Cape Canaveral

March 25, 2020 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance’s next Atlas 5 rocket moved to its launch pad Wednesday at Cape Canaveral, taking position for liftoff with the U.S. military’s sixth and final Advanced Extremely High Frequency secure communications satellite.

Live coverage: Atlas 5 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral

March 25, 2020 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 4:18 p.m. EDT (2018 GMT), following a delay of more than an hour to troubleshoot a ground hydraulics controller. The Atlas 5 launched with the U.S. military’s sixth Advanced Extremely High Frequency strategic communications satellite.