News Archive / Tagged: Atlas V

• Battery failure delays Atlas V launch until July

  Jason RhianJune 23rd, 2019

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 551 rocket with the fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-5) satellite for the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center will have to wait a little longer before taking flight.

• Booster core for historic CFT mission arrives in Florida

  Mike HowardJune 6th, 2019

  The booster core for a ULA Atlas V rocket, one tasked with a historic mission, emerged from the Delta Mariner transport ship after a voyage from the company's processing facilities located in Decatur, Alabama.

• Stacking underway for next Atlas V launch

  Derek RichardsonMay 28th, 2019

  United Launch Alliance has begun assembling the Atlas V rocket that will be used to orbit the U.S. Air Force’s next advanced communications satellite.

• GEM 63 completes 2nd static fire test

  Jason RhianApril 4th, 2019

  Northrop Grumman's new 63-inch Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM 63) solid rocket booster has completed another landmark in the booster's progression toward flight.

• NG engineer details what it is like to develop GEM 63 booster

  Jason RhianDecember 20th, 2018

  PROMONTORY, Utah -- Each component of a rocket is individual, yet it must function as one on the day of launch. The GEM 63 solid rocket motor has begun taking its first steps toward being integrated into one of the most successful rockets ever flown. What were those first steps like?

• Notes on the Run: What is it like to see a rocket launch?

  Jason RhianDecember 15th, 2018

  One of the questions I'm often asked is “What’s it like attending a rocket launch?” Perhaps the best way to answer the question is by detailing some of our recent experiences during the launch of Northrop Grumman's S.S. John Young to the International Space Station.

• Gallery: Desolate Utah plains rumble with GEM 63’s fury

  Jason RhianSeptember 21st, 2018

  PROMONTORY, Utah — Northrop Grumman’s GEM 63 solid rocket motor conducted its first test fire at 1 p.m. MDT (3 p.m. EDT / 19:00 GMT) on Thursday, Sept. 20. The motor was tested under “cold conditions” of approximately 40 °F. The GEM 63 series is being developed for use on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V […]

• Northrop Grumman’s GEM 63 undergoes 1st test fire

  Jason RhianSeptember 20th, 2018

  The desolate, remote deserts of Utah came alive in fire and smoke during a test that heralded the introduction of powerful new launch vehicles onto the world stage.

• Launched in January, SBIRS GEO-3 reaches operational status

  Joe LatrellSeptember 17th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — GEO-3, the latest Geosynchronous Earth Orbit satellite in the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) constellation, has achieved operational acceptance from the U.S. Air Force Space Command.

• And the winners are… NASA announces first astronauts to fly under Commercial Crew Program

  Joe LatrellAugust 3rd, 2018

  HOUSTON — The race to develop new U.S. spacecraft to ferry astronauts to space reached another milestone with the announcement of the first crews that will fly on commercially-produced spacecraft. On Aug. 3, 2018, NASA selected the astronauts who will fly on the first Boeing Starliner and SpaceX Crewed Dragon capsules.

• Marsbound!: NASA InSight lander launches toward Red Planet

  Jim SharkeyMay 5th, 2018

  LOMPOC, Calif. — Initially flying through early-morning fog, a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air force Base's Space Launch Complex 3 to send NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander on a six-month journey to Mars.

• NASA’s InSight Mars spacecraft ready for launch

  Jim SharkeyMay 3rd, 2018

  LOMPOC, Calif. — NASA and United Launch Alliance (ULA) are set to fly the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) Mars lander atop an Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base to begin a 6.5-month journey to the Red Planet.

• Twin MarCO CubeSats launching alongside NASA’s InSight Mars mission

  Jim SharkeyApril 28th, 2018

  When the InSight Mars mission launches atop an Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, two mini-satellites will be riding on the same rocket. The twin spacecraft, called Mars Cube One (MarCO), are the first NASA CubeSats designed to operate in deep space.

• Gallery: AFSPC-11 mission soars skyward

  Derek RichardsonApril 15th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Lifting off during the "golden hour" of photography, United Launch Alliance flew its Atlas V rocket with the AFSPC-11 mission into space. SpaceFlight Insider was able to capture vivid imagery via remote cameras on the pad and from team members on a causeway several miles away.

• ULA notches another successful mission with flight of USAF payloads on AFSPC-11

  Curt GodwinApril 14th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Amidst scattered clouds, United Launch Alliance (ULA) notched its fourth successful flight of 2018. The April 14, 2018, AFSPC-11 mission was a classified one, however, carried out on behalf of the United States Air Force.