Tag: EELV

  • Milestone-setting 100th EELV rocket moves to launch pad

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    The Atlas 5 rocket with GOES-R was rolled out this morning. Credit: United Launch Alliance CAPE CANAVERAL — The 100th rocket in America’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, the current fleet of boosters used by the nation to get its critical assets into space, was rolled to the pad this morning for a vital mission…

  • Falcon 9 upgrade receives blessing from U.S. Air Force

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    SpaceX’s upgraded Falcon 9 rocket has flown one time, hauling 11 Orbcomm communications satellites into low Earth orbit in this Dec. 21 liftoff from Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX The U.S. Air Force on Monday certified the latest version of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, featuring higher-thrust engines, enlarged fuel tanks and a super-chilled propellant mixture, for…

  • Air Force stays the course with SpaceX rocket certification

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    File photo of a previous Falcon 9 launch. Credit: SpaceX Sunday’s Falcon 9 rocket failure may have blemished SpaceX’s success record, but the mishap will not keep the entrepreneurial space company from competing for U.S. military launch contracts with rival United Launch Alliance, according to an Air Force general. SpaceX won certification from the Air…

  • SpaceX cleared to launch U.S. national security satellites

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    File photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch. Credit: SpaceX The U.S. Air Force announced Tuesday that SpaceX is now eligible to compete for launches of U.S. national security satellites, closing a tumultuous chapter in the U.S. rocket industry and ending the Pentagon’s sole reliance on United Launch Alliance to haul military payloads into…

  • ULA, SpaceX face off in landmark Air Force launch competition

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    Artist’s concept of a GPS 3 satellite. Credit: Lockheed Martin The U.S. Air Force has identified the launch of a next-generation GPS navigation satellite for the first in a series of competitive rocket procurements between United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, service officials announced Wednesday. The Air Force released a draft request for proposals Wednesday for…

  • Three Atlas 5, Delta 4 assigned to military launches

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    CAPE CANAVERAL — Three rockets under the existing Block Buy between the Pentagon and United Launch Alliance have been assigned configurations and payloads. The $382.9 million, fixed-price contract awarded last week covers a Delta 4 rocket and two Atlas 5 vehicles that will launch in the next two years. “We are enormously honored to be…

  • 13 launches on manifest for ULA in 2015

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    Credit: Orbital Sciences Navigation satellites, communications spacecraft, classified missions, NASA science projects and the Orbital Sciences Cygnus cargo ship destined for the International Space Station are on the United Launch Alliance manifest for the new year. It is a 13-launch schedule, featuring 9 Atlas 5 rockets, three Delta 4 vehicles and one Delta 2. Ten…