A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the third Mobile User Objective System satellite for the United States Navy launched from Space Launch Complex-41. Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance, All Reserved.
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Atlas V Successfully Launches Navy’s “Orbital Cell Tower”

Marking the 200th launch for the venerable Atlas-Centaur family of rockets and 52nd Atlas V, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V thundered off the launch pad Tuesday night to deploy the third Mobile User Objective System for the United States Navy. MUOS-3 joins two existing satellites in geosynchronous orbit providing secure, reliable high-speed communications to […]

Launch of NROL-35 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. December 12, 2014. Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance
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Powerful Atlas Launches Clandestine Satellite From California

The largest Atlas rocket to fly from California blasted off tonight on a successful mission to deliver the classified NROL-35 satellite to polar orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office. Following a one day delay due to bad weather, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V-541 lifted off from Space Launch Complex-3 at 10:19 p.m. EST. “We […]

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Atlas To The Rescue, Orbital Selects ULA To Launch Cygnus To ISS In 2015

As the company continues to recover from October’s spectacular launch failure of the  Antares medium-lift launch vehicle, Orbital Sciences Corporation announced that it has signed a contract with United Launch Alliance to conduct one and possibly two cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station using ULA’s Atlas V. The Atlas launch vehicle, with a […]

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NASA’s Orion Spacecraft Completes “Picture Perfect” First Test Flight

Reaching a pinnacle in its nine-year development program, NASA’s next-generation Orion deep-space exploration craft soared through a picture-perfect test flight today to mark a major milestone in NASA’s plans to return to human space exploration with sights firmly fixed on Mars. Exploration Flight Test-1 was Orion’s first mission and the first “real-life” test for many […]

Atlas V GPS IFF-8. Photo Credit: Valerie Phillips
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Atlas V Racks Up 50th Success With Launch of GPS IIF-8 For U.S. Air Force

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket successfully launched the eighth Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-8 satellite for the U.S. Air Force at 1:21 p.m. EDT today from Space Launch Complex-41. This is ULA’s 12th launch in 2014, and the 89th successful launch since the company was formed in December 2006. “ULA is honored […]

NASA looks to the future as workers raise a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket on the pad at Space Launch Complex 37. This Delta vehicle will power the first test flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft, the first human spacecraft designed to travel beyond low Earth orbit since the Apollo program. Launch of Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) is targeted for the morning of December 4. Photo Credit: Matthew Travis / Zero-G News
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Looking To The Future, Delta IV Rocket For Orion First Flight Reaches The Launch Pad

A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket stands on the launch pad today, marking a critical and historic milestone of NASA’s plan to launch the first Orion spacecraft later this year. Overnight, workers from Delta IV manufacturer United Launch Alliance rolled the massive three-core booster – minus the upper stage and Orion – from […]

The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy is in the final stages of processing for NASA's Orion EFT-1 mission in December. Photo Credit: Matthew Travis / Zero G News
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Delta IV Processing Nearly Complete For Historic EFT-1 Mission

Engineers took another step forward in preparations for the first test flight of NASA’s new Orion spacecraft, in December. The three primary core elements of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket recently were integrated, forming the first stage of the launch vehicle that will send Orion far from Earth to allow NASA […]

Model of BE-4 engine. Photo Credit: ULA
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United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin To Develop RD-180 Alternative

Facing pressure to find a domestic replacement for the Russian-built RD-180 liquid fuel rocket engine that powers the Atlas V EELV, United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin announced today the formation of a partnership to develop an innovative new large liquid rocket engine in the United States. Once in production, the new engine will power […]

The fully-assembled Orion EFT-1 spacecraft is revealed for the first time. Photo Credit: Matthew Travis / Zero-G News
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NASA Rolls Out First Orion Spacecraft For December EFT-1 Test Flight

NASA is making steady progress on its Orion spacecraft, completing several milestones this week at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for the capsule’s first trip to space in December. Engineers finished building the Orion crew module, attached it and the already-completed service module to the adapter that will join Orion to its […]

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the WorldView-3 satellite for DigitalGlobe launches from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Credit: ULA
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Atlas Rocket Orbits WorldView-3 Commercial Imaging Satellite

Continuing a very successful year for United Launch Alliance, an Atlas V rocket thundered into space this morning on a mission to successfully deploy the WorldView-3 satellite for commercial space imaging provider DigitalGlobe. Blasting off on time at 11:30 a.m PDT from Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg AFB in California, WorldView-3 was placed into […]