Constellations, Launch, New Space and more…
TAG
“Centaur”
United Launch Alliance Set to Launch GOES-T Mission for NOAA and NASA
Illustration of the GOES-T spacecraft with Earth’s reflection. (Credits: Lockheed Martin)

Essential satellite for the nation’s most advanced weather observation and climate monitoring system

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla., Feb. 26, 2022 (ULA PR) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket is in final preparations to launch the GOES-T mission for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA. The launch, managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) based at Kennedy Space Center, is on track for March 1 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Launch is planned for 4:38 p.m. EST. The live launch broadcast begins at 4:00 p.m. EST on March 1 at  www.ulalaunch.com.

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • February 27, 2022
UArizona Students Confirm Errant Rocket’s Chinese Origins and Track Lunar Collision Course
A high-definition image of the Mars Australe lava plain on the Moon taken by Japan’s Kaguya lunar orbiter in November 2007. (Credit: JAXA/NHK)

TUCSON, Ariz. (University of Arizona PR) — The presumed SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster that’s on a course to hit the moon March 4 is actually a Chinese booster from a rocket launch in 2014, a University of Arizona team has confirmed.

UArizona students in the university’s Space Domain Awareness lab at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory have had their eyes on the piece of space junk for weeks as they studied its rotation. They have been gathering other data as well, which they used to confirm its Chinese origin.

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • February 16, 2022
Northrop Grumman-Built Space Sensor Satellites Launch in Support of US Space Force-8 Mission
Northrop Grumman-built GSSAP satellites collect space situational awareness data allowing for more accurate tracking and characterization of man-made orbiting objects. (Credit: Northrop Grumman)

DULLES, Va., Jan. 21, 2022 (Northrop Grumman PR) – Two Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites were successfully launched into orbit on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket today from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as part of the U.S. Space Force (USSF)-8 mission. The two satellites, GSSAP-5 and GSSAP-6, will enhance space situational awareness, a top priority for the U.S. Space Force. In addition to manufacturing and delivering both GSSAP payloads, Northrop Grumman also provided the sole strap-on solid rocket booster adding propulsion to the rocket launch, as well as essential aeronautical components in support of the USSF-8 launch.  

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • January 22, 2022
United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches Critical Space Surveillance Mission for U.S. Space Force
A ULA Atlas V rocket carrying the USSF-8 mission for the U.S. Space Force lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 at 2:00 p.m. EST on Jan. 21. (Credit: United Launch Alliance)

Atlas V launched Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites, GSSAP-5 and GSSAP-6, to a near-geosynchronous orbit

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla., January 21, 2022 (ULA PR) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the USSF-8 mission for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command lifted off on Jan. 21 at 2:00 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. To date ULA has launched 148 times with 100 percent mission success.

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • January 22, 2022
ULA Atlas V to Launch USSF-8 Mission in Support of National Security on Friday
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launches on the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program 3 (STP-3) mission from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. The mission’s Space Test Program Satellite-6 (STPSat-6) spacecraft hosts NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) and the NASA-U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Ultraviolet Spectro-Coronagraph (UVSC) Pathfinder. (Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla., Jan. 19, 2022 (ULA PR) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket is in final preparations to launch the USSF-8 mission for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command. The launch is on track for Jan. 21, 2022 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Launch is planned for 2:00 p.m. EST. The live launch broadcast begins at 1:40 p.m. EST at www.ulalaunch.com.

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • January 20, 2022
ULA to Launch Landsat 9 Satellite on Monday from Vandenberg
Landsat 9 (Credit: NASA)

VANDERBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (ULA Mission Update) — Everything is progressing toward the ULA Atlas V launch carrying the Landsat 9 mission for NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. The mission is planned to lift off on Mon., Sept. 27 at 11:11 a.m. PDT from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. 

Live broadcast coverage of launch will begin at 10:30 a.m. PDT on Sept. 27 and will broadcast live on NASA TV. Live launch updates and webcast available at: www.ulalaunch.com

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • September 25, 2021
Space System Command’s Launch Enterprise Awards Four Prototype Agreements

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (SSC PR) — Space Systems Command (SSC) is partnering with industry on prototype projects to invest in next-generation rocket engine testing and upper stage resiliency enhancements. SSC’s Launch Enterprise today awarded FY21 prototype projects for Raptor Rapid Throttling and Restart Testing; Liquid Methane Specification Development and Testing; and Combustion Stability Analysis and Testing to SpaceX for $14.47 million, for Uplink Command and Control for […]

  • Parabolic Arc
  • September 25, 2021
ULA Atlas V Set to Launch Boeing CST-100 Starliner Spacecraft on Second Orbital Flight Test
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is secured atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on July 17, 2021. (Credit: Boeing/Damon Tucci)

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., July 27, 2021 (ULA PR) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket is in final preparations to launch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on the second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch is planned for July 30 at 2:53 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The live launch broadcast begins no earlier than 2 p.m. EDT on July 30 at  www.ulalaunch.com.

(more…)
  • Parabolic Arc
  • July 27, 2021
Atlas V Launch Delayed a Day Due to Anomaly

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla., May 17, 2021 (ULA PR) – The launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V carrying the SBIRS GEO Flight 5 mission for the U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) has been scrubbed. During Centaur liquid oxygen (LOX) chilldown operations, the team identified an anomalous system response that could not be resolved within the launch window.  Launch is now scheduled for 1:31 […]

  • Parabolic Arc
  • May 17, 2021