Tag: Atlas V
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Atlas rocket bids farewell to California as ULA readies for Vulcan
The Atlas rocket family, a staple of the US launch industry since June 11, 1957, ended its West Coast operations on Nov. 10 with the launch of an Atlas V rocket with the JPSS-2 weather satellite. Liftoff of the mission from Space Launch Complex-3 East (SLC-3E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, is scheduled for…
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Final Atlas V 531 launches dual SES-20 and SES-21 satellites
United Launch Alliance (ULA) has launched the dual-manifested SES-20 & 21 telecommunication satellites on the final Atlas V 531 rocket to a near-circular geosynchronous orbit (GSO). The Atlas V launched from Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) on Oct. 4 at the opening of the window at 5:36 PM…
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Florida spaceports brace for Hurricane Ian
The Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station are bracing for the arrival and effects of Hurricane Ian, a major tropical cyclone in the Gulf of Mexico that made landfall near Cayo Costa, Florida at 3:05 PM EDT (19:05 UTC) on Wednesday, Sept. 28 with maximum sustained winds at 241 km/h (150 mph). Updates…
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ULA’s Atlas V launches final SBIRS GEO missile detection satellite
United Launch Alliance was in action Thursday, using an Atlas V rocket to deploy a missile detection satellite for the US Space Force. Liftoff of the SBIRS GEO 6 mission from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is occurred at the opening of a 40-minute window at 6:29 AM EDT (10:29 UTC). The Space-Based Infrared…
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Atlas V launches two experimental military satellites on USSF-12 mission
United Launch Alliance has deployed a pair of Space Force technology demonstration payloads into geostationary orbit Friday evening. The USSF-12 mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 7:15 PM EDT (23:15 UTC) on Friday, following a 24 hour delay from Thursday due to weather as well as additional weather delays early in the Friday window.…
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Starliner OFT-2 launch makes it to orbit, heading to ISS
Nine months after valve issues caused its previous launch attempt to be scrubbed, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has launched on its Orbital Flight Test 2 mission atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket Thursday. OFT-2 departed Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral at 6:54:36 p.m. EDT (22:54 UTC), bound for the International Space Station…
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As Centaur turns 60 years old, ULA prepares to evolve Centaur V
60 years ago, on May 8, 1962, Atlas-LV3C Centaur-A – designated Atlas Centaur-1 (AC-1) – lifted off from the newly-constructed Launch Complex-36A (LC-36A). AC-1 was the first flight test of the hydrogen-powered Centaur upper stage. Since the maiden flight of Centaur, the stage has flown on several different rocket families across six decades. Centaur has…
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As Centaur turns 60 years old, ULA prepares to evolve Centaur V
60 years ago, on May 8, 1962, Atlas-LV3C Centaur-A – designated Atlas Centaur-1 (AC-1) – lifted off from the newly-constructed Launch Complex-36A (LC-36A). AC-1 was the first flight test of the hydrogen-powered Centaur upper stage. Since the maiden flight of Centaur, the stage has flown on several different rocket families across six decades. Centaur has…
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Arianespace, ULA, Blue Origin discuss executing ambitious Kuiper constellation missions for Amazon
Amazon’s announcement of three launch contracts totaling 83 flights split across Ariane 6, Vulcan, and New Glenn represents the largest commercial launch block buy in history and will unite Arianespace, United Launch Alliance, and Blue Origin in a multi-year effort to deploy the Kuiper internet constellation. The contracts represent unique challenges to some providers and…
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NOAA, NASA’s GOES-T weather satellite launches on ULA Atlas V
United Launch Alliance (ULA) has launched the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-T advanced weather satellite for the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). GOES-T launched on an Atlas V 541 from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The launch took place on March 1, 2022, at 4:38 PM EST…