All articles tagged with #ula
ULA’s Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral is slated to launch a 29-satellite Amazon Leo mission in a 12:24 a.m. ET window on July 2, delivering a roughly 18-ton payload for Amazon’s low-Earth orbit broadband megaconstellation (aiming for about 3,200 satellites). The mission, Amazon Leo 8, continues Amazon’s effort to rival SpaceX’s Starlink, with live coverage provided by Space.com and ULA starting around midnight ET.
ULA launches the final Atlas 5 in the 551 configuration (AV-114) for Amazon Leo’s LA-08 mission, carrying 29 satellites from Cape Canaveral’s SLC-41; liftoff at 12:24 a.m. EDT, marking the end of the Atlas 5 era with only six Atlas 5 launches remaining (reserved for Starliner in N22), as Amazon Leo eyes initial commercial service later this year and Vulcan's first Leo flight is expected in Q3 2026.
ULA is preparing to launch 29 Amazon Leo satellites on an Atlas 5-551 from Cape Canaveral's SLC-41 in the Amazon Leo 7/LA-07 mission within a 29‑minute window; this is the seventh Leo production batch and the penultimate Atlas 5 mission for Amazon, leaving one Atlas 5 launch remaining after LA-07. Weather is forecast to be challenging with about a 30% chance of acceptable conditions; broader context includes delays to Blue Origin's New Glenn, the Vulcan program, and FCC requirements for the constellation, while Amazon's satellites were at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and not harmed by the New Glenn explosion on May 28.
Amazon is expanding its satellite program by using both Blue Origin’s New Glenn and ULA’s Vulcan to deploy its Amazon Leo network. After a prior New Glenn upper-stage failure, Blue Origin plans a mission delivering 48 satellites for Amazon as soon as June, with the FAA having closed the investigation and Blue Origin outlining corrective actions. ULA’s Vulcan remains grounded due to booster anomalies, complicating the schedule for future Amazon launches. Amazon has previously relied on Atlas V, Falcon 9, and Ariane 6 and aims to deploy about 3,200 satellites, seeking faster deployment and potential competition to SpaceX’s Starlink, contingent on Vulcan’s recovery and ongoing testing.
ULA is launching 29 Amazon Leo satellites on an Atlas 5 from Cape Canaveral, marking the sixth Leo production flight and the fastest turnaround at Space Launch Complex 41; liftoff is set for 8:52 p.m. EDT, boosting Amazon Leo to 270 satellites as the company builds a broader constellation of more than 3,200.
The Space Force is reworking a slate of national-security launches after ULA’s Vulcan booster anomaly could keep the rocket grounded for months, prompting reassignment of at least one GPS mission to SpaceX and prompting officials to explore rideshares, mission reallocation, and other options while investigations continue and Blue Origin’s New Glenn certification remains unsettled.
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Access and SYD 80 teams have swapped the GPS III-8 mission from United Launch Alliance to SpaceX, with a Falcon 9 now set to deliver the final GPS III SV-10 to orbit no earlier than late April from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral. ULA will instead handle the USSF-70 mission no earlier than summer 2028. The change aims to maintain rapid, reliable GPS capability while the Vulcan anomaly investigation continues, and there are no announced changes to other manifests.
Facing booster anomalies that grounded ULA's Vulcan, Space Systems Command moved GPS III SV10’s launch to SpaceX's Falcon 9, the fourth GPS mission shifted from ULA to SpaceX in just over a year, highlighting SpaceX's lead in reliable access to space while Vulcan undergoes investigation.
NASA has chosen the Centaur upper stage from ULA to replace the Exploration Upper Stage on the Space Launch System for Artemis 4 and 5, via a sole-source contract that includes a flight spare; this follows NASA’s decision not to pursue the Block 1B EUS and the end of ICPS production, with Centaur favored over Blue Origin’s New Glenn due to familiarity, existing infrastructure, and schedule risks.
NASA has selected United Launch Alliance’s Centaur 5 as the upper stage for the Space Launch System, starting with Artemis 4 no earlier than early 2028, via a sole-source contract to standardize the fleet to a near-Block 1 configuration. The decision leverages Centaur 5’s RL10 heritage and existing infrastructure, while bypassing alternatives like Boeing’s EUS and Blue Origin’s NGUS due to cost, schedule, and development risks, in line with NASA’s push to accelerate manufacturing and increase launch rates.
A former NASA administrator turned United Launch Alliance lobbyist endorses a Senate proposal to cap NASA launch funding at 50% per provider, aiming to boost competition among US launch firms, but critics say it could block SpaceX missions and favor incumbents in the evolving space industry.
The U.S. Space Force has paused all national-security launches on ULA’s Vulcan Centaur after booster anomalies recurred on the latest mission (USSF-87) and a previous flight, leading to a multi‑month investigation and corrective actions before flights resume.
The Space Force has paused further launches on ULA’s Vulcan rocket while investigators probe a February 2026 booster anomaly—the second such issue after a 2024 carbon‑composite insulator defect—pushing GPS satellite launches toward SpaceX’s Falcon 9. The investigation is expected to last months as officials seek root cause and corrective actions. Meanwhile, GPS modernization continues: 26 of 31 satellites carry the M-code signal and 19 broadcast the higher‑power L5 civil signal, underscoring the value of having multiple launch providers to maintain global coverage amid rising interference and jamming threats.
Space Force has halted Vulcan rocket launches after an anomaly with a solid-rocket booster was observed on the USSF-87 mission. Investigators will work with ULA and Northrop Grumman to determine corrective actions before resuming Vulcan flights, with no set resumption date and potential fallback options such as SpaceX if Vulcan remains grounded. GPS III SV-10 remains on the national security launch manifest for no later than next month as ULA addresses the booster issue while pursuing its cadence goals.
ULA offloaded the first Vulcan booster at Vandenberg, marking the West Coast debut for Vulcan launches after the RocketShip barge delivered flight hardware from Alabama and Florida. The USSF-87 mission to GEO with GSSAP and ESPA payloads is targeting no earlier than Feb. 12, with Cape Canaveral readiness continuing for a separate launch from SLC-41.