United Launch Alliance (ULA) is working with Boeing to launch astronauts aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft atop ULA's Atlas V rocket. Here's what's in store for 2017 as they prepare to launch astronauts to the International Space Station beginning in 2018.
The fourth flight of the Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is scheduled for launch atop an Atlas V rocket on Wednesday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The Atlas V rocket, provided by United Launch Alliance, will liftoff from Space Launch Complex-41.
A
United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying a payload for
the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) lifted off from Space Launch
Complex-3 on Friday at 10:19 p.m. EST. Designated NROL-35, the
mission is in support of national defense.
"This
mission was launched on the most powerful Atlas ever launched from
California with more than two million pounds of liftoff thrust,”
said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president, Atlas and Delta Programs.
The
satellite was launched aboard an Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch
Vehicle 541 configuration vehicle, which includes a five-meter
diameter payload fairing along with four Aerojet Rocketdyne solid
rocket motors attached to the Atlas booster. The Atlas booster for
this mission was powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine and the
Centaur upper stage was powered by the inaugural flight of the
Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C-1 engine.
"We
have been working closely with Aerojet Rocketdyne and our Air Force
customers for several years to develop and extensively test this
next-generation engine to enable the most reliable and cost-effective
upper stage propulsion for our Atlas and Delta programs," said
Sponnick.
ULA's next launch will carry the Mobile User
Objective System-3 satellite for the United States Navy scheduled for
Jan. 20 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Fla.
ULA has successfully delivered more than 85
satellites to orbit.
More than 100 students of all ages will put their rockets and payloads on display high above the plains of Pueblo, Colo., during the seventh annual Student Rocket Launch on Saturday. The launch will feature three high-power sport rockets built by interns at United Launch Alliance (ULA) that will carry science experiments thousands of feet above the ground. The five largest payloads are built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. interns. K-12 students from Colorado, Ohio and Alabama created 13 additional payloads. This year's rocket team includes approximately 65 interns from ULA and 45 interns from Ball. The event will take place at the Hudson Ranch, located just outside of Pueblo. Attendees are invited to view the rockets up-close on the launch pads beginning at 8:30 a.m. MDT, with the first launch at 10 a.m. The final launch will occur at noon. The Rockets
"The Future" is the largest rocket launched in Colorado, standing 25-feet tall and weighing 320 pounds. It will soar to approximately 9,000 feet above the ground, carrying 15 payloads. The "Stars 'N' Stripes" is a 20-foot rocket that will carry two payloads, and "Atlas IV," at 10 feet tall, will deploy one payload.
"The Student Rocket Launch provides one of the most in-depth, hands-on educational opportunities for interns in the country," said Matt Smith, ULA's vice president of Engineering and Information Technology. The Future, Stars 'N' Stripes and Atlas IV are all built and refurbished by ULA summer interns in Centennial, Colo.; Decatur, Ala.; Harlingen, Texas; Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.; and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The interns volunteer to work on the rockets outside of their "day jobs," building and testing the rockets with the guidance of ULA employees who participate as mentors.
The Southern Colorado Rocketeers, Colorado Springs-based rocketry club and Northern Colorado Rocketry also will be launching rockets throughout the event. This year, the event also coincides with the 56th Annual National Association of Rocketry Annual Meet. The payloads This year's concepts include: a self-correcting rock-climbing car that's "driven" back by "Batman"; R/C controlled para gliders; a self-inflating balloon; a chalk cloud; and smoke grenades, environmental suites, cooling systems and many other sensors and cameras. "The rocket launch aspect of the 10-week internship demonstrates their understanding of the teamwork needed to become future leaders," said Jeff Osterkamp, Ball's vice president for Engineering. The Future rocket payloads include a class teddy bear (named "S. Carpenter Bear" after the astronaut from Colorado), an experiment to test post-launch dispersion of bar-coded Alabama cotton bolls, and payloads designed to capture images and data using cameras, Global Positioning System, geographic information system, altimeters, accelerometers and other devices.
This is ULA's sixth launch of an aggressive 12 mission schedule for the year and the 72nd ULA mission since its formation in 2006.
MUOS is a next-generation narrowband tactical satellite communications system designed to significantly improve beyond-line-of-sight communications for U.S. forces on the move. MUOS will provide military users 10 times more communications capacity over the existing system by leveraging 3G mobile communications technology, and will provide simultaneous voice and data capability.
The U.S. Navy's second Mobile User Objective System satellite (known as MUOS-2), encapsulated inside a five-meter diameter payload fairing, was recently mated to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster in preparation for launch Friday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
