Tag: Atlas V
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ULA enters LVOS operation ahead of USSF-7 launch
United Launch Alliance (ULA) path to the USSF-7 launch achieved a major milestone on Thursday during “Launch Vehicle on Stand (LVOS)” operations. This marks the beginning of the final assembly of the launch vehicle inside the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at SLC-41, which is located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. For the mission, ULA…
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Perseverance Mars rover in critical pre-launch testing at Kennedy
With its launch just over three months away, NASA’s Perseverance rover is undergoing final critical pre-launch testing and checkouts at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The series of verification and validation activities not only occurred on the rover itself but also on the helicopter it will take with it to the Red Planet. Presently,…
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ESA Solar Orbiter mission rides on ULA Atlas V to study the Sun
A mission years in the planning and building took its next great leap Sunday evening as the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter blasts off on a 7-year mission to study the Sun. The probe launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 rocket from SLC-41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, at…
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Starliner suffers mission-shortening failure after successful launch
After a gorgeous and 100% successful launch atop the Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance, Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner crew capsule suffered a mission-shortening failure just 30 minutes into its inaugural flight. A Mission Event Timer issue resulted in Starliner burning a significantly larger amount of propellant than planned and forced Boeing and NASA to…
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Boeing, ULA launches Starliner, suffers orbital insertion issue – will return home Sunday
A moment nearly ten years in the making. After receiving a formal development award on 18 April 2011 for their CST-100 crew capsule, Boeing sent its Starliner spacecraft on its inaugural flight, albeit one that will be cut short. The uncrewed test, known as the Orbital Flight Test — or OFT — launched on a…
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Starliner arrives at launch pad in major pre-flight milestone
The first Starliner crew vehicle from Boeing has arrived at SLC-41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for stacking operations with its Atlas V rocket. Starliner rolled out of the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at the Kennedy Space Center earlier this morning for the multi-mile trip to the pad. The event…
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ESA’s Solar Orbiter ready to study the Sun, heading for Florida
Solar Orbiter is ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) first medium class mission with strong partnership from NASA. Part of the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Programme, the science platform has now completed all its European-based construction and integration tests and is ready to be shipped to its launch site at the end of October. Launch of Solar Orbiter…
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Boeing’s Starliner set for two pivotal test flights before the year’s end
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is preparing for two major flight tests before the end of the year, which will pave the way for the spacecraft’s first crewed flight in 2020. The capsule is being developed under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to provide transportation services to and from the International Space Station. NASA provided an official update…
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Cargo Dream Chaser solidifies ULA deal by securing six Vulcan Centaur flights
Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Cargo Dream Chaser has extended its agreement with United Launch Alliance (ULA) from two to six launches during its Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS2) missions to the International Space Station (ISS). All six missions will launch on ULA’s new rocket, Vulcan Centaur. The move was expected but requirement confirmation given Dream Chaser’s…
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Atlas V launches AEHF-5 from Cape Canaveral
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket has deployed an advanced communications satellite for the US Air Force Thursday morning. Atlas lifted off from Cape Canaveral with the AEHF-5 satellite aboard, during a two-hour window that opens at 05:44 Eastern Time (09:44 UTC). After resolving a couple of minor issues, the launch occurred at 06:13 Eastern…