100-601: United Launch Alliance, LLC ( ULA ) is an American launch service provider formed in December 2006 as a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing Defense, Space & Security . The company designs, assembles, sells and launches rockets, but the company subcontracts out the production of rocket engines and solid rocket boosters . When founded, the company inherited the Atlas rocket family from Lockheed Martin and
200-653: A Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) satellite, the Juno spacecraft and Curiosity rover. The Delta II launches placed the SAC-D and Suomi NPP satellites into orbit, as well as two spacecraft associated with NASA's GRAIL lunar mission. Delta IV launches carried the NROL-49 , NROL-27 , and another GPS satellite. ULA's 2012 launches included six Atlas Vs and four Delta IVs. The Atlas system carried Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) and AEHF satellites, another Boeing X-37,
300-596: A crew-carrying lunar lander known as Blue Moon . The standard version of the lander is intended to transport 3.6 t (7,900 lb) to the lunar surface , whereas a stretched tank variant could land up to 6.5 t (14,000 lb) on the Moon; both vehicles are designed to make a soft landing on the Moon's surface. The lander will use the BE-7 hydrolox engine. On May 19, 2023, NASA contracted Blue Origin to develop, test and deploy its Blue Moon landing system for
400-539: A "simple, single-propellant engine" called the Blue Engine-1 ( BE-1 ) which uses peroxide propellant and generates 8.9 kN (2,000 lbf) of thrust . The Blue Engine-2 ( BE-2 ) which is a bipropellant engine using kerosene and peroxide, produces 140 kN (31,000 lbf) of thrust. The BE-3 is a family of rocket engines made by Blue Origin with two variants, the BE-3U and BE-3PM. The rocket engine
500-402: A $ 130 million award to jump-start the design of their Orbital Reef commercial space station. The project is envisioned as an expandable business park, with Boeing's Starliner and Sierra Space's Dream Chaser transporting passengers to and from low Earth orbit (LEO) for tourism , research and in-space manufacturing projects. Orbital Reef’s design will be modular in nature, to provide
600-604: A $ 5 million contract from NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a long range nuclear propulsion system called the Power Adjusted Demonstration Mars Engine, or PADME. NASA awarded $ 35 million to the company in 2023 for the company's work on lunar regolith to be used for solar powered systems on the moon. The company's website states that "Blue Alchemist is a proposed end-to-end, scalable, autonomous, and commercial solution that produces solar cells from lunar regolith, which
700-486: A 5-year period beginning in 2024. The Vulcan Centaur was originally slated to conduct its maiden flight in 2019, however was delayed repeatedly. The inaugural flight occurred on January 8, 2024, successfully sending the Peregrine lunar lander into orbit toward the moon. This launch was intended to allow Astrobotic Technology to conduct five lunar experiments for NASA. ULA completed a second test flight, named Cert-2, of
800-668: A 50/50 joint venture , United Launch Alliance (ULA), to consolidate their space launch operations. The two companies had long competed for launch services contracts from the DoD, and their Atlas and Delta rockets were the two launch vehicles selected under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The DoD had hoped the program would foster the creation of a strong, competitive commercial launch market. However, both companies said that this competition had made space launches unprofitable. Boeing's future in
900-514: A 531 configuration. This launch was notable because it was the first flight of the GEM-63 solid rocket boosters, a version of which will be used on their Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle. On 18 May 2021, the SBIRS GEO 5 missile-warning satellite was launched on an Atlas V 421 rocket. The Lucy spaceflight began on 16 October 2021 upon launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket into
1000-727: A Delta II from Vandenberg Space Force Base on 14 December 2006, carrying the satellite USA-193 for the National Reconnaissance Office . The satellite failed shortly after launch and was intentionally destroyed on 21 February 2008, by an SM-3 missile that was fired from the Ticonderoga -class cruiser USS Lake Erie . ULA's first Atlas V launch was in March 2007; it was an Atlas V variant 401 launching six military research satellites for Space Test Program (STP) 1. This mission also performed three burns of
1100-668: A Flight Readiness Firing of the Vulcan Rocket at launch pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida . Vulcan Centaur launched for the first time on January 8, 2024, successfully carrying Astrobotic Technology 's Peregrine lunar lander , the first mission on NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program using the BE-4 engine. The BE-7 engine
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#17327727483421200-414: A Twitter post by the official Blue Origin account announced that the first two BE-4 engines had been delivered to ULA and were being integrated on a Vulcan rocket. In a later tweet, ULA CEO Tory Bruno said that one of the engines had already been installed on the booster, and that the other would be joining it momentarily. On June 7, 2023, the two BE-4 rocket engines performed as expected when ULA performed
1300-482: A crew capsule. The capsule can be configured to house up to six passengers , cargo , or a combination of both. The booster rocket is powered by one BE-3PM engine, which sends the capsule to an apogee ( Sub-Orbital ) of 100.5 kilometres (62.4 mi) and flies above the Kármán line , where passengers and cargo can experience a few minutes of weightlessness before the capsule returns to Earth. The launch vehicle
1400-520: A diameter of 3.8 metres (12 ft) and a launch mass of 75 short tons (150,000 lb; 68,000 kg). The BE-3PM engine produces 490 kN of thrust at takeoff . New Shepard allows the company to significantly reduce the cost of space tourism . New Glenn is a heavy-lift launch vehicle and is expected to launch in Q1 of 2025. The launch date has been set back because of numerous delays. Named after NASA astronaut John Glenn , design work on
1500-787: A launch of the Atlas V rocket on 22 March 2016 , a minor first-stage anomaly led to shutdown of the first-stage engine approximately five seconds before anticipated. The Centaur upper stage was able to compensate by firing for approximately one minute longer than planned using its reserved fuel margin. Atlas V rockets carried MUOS-5 in June 2016, NROL-61 satellites in July 2016, and the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in September 2016. ULA launched multiple satellites in late 2016. The weather satellite Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R)
1600-801: A lower than intended orbit. The NRO declared the launch a success. 2007 also saw ULA's first two interplanetary spacecraft launches using the Delta II; the Phoenix probe was launched to Mars in August 2007 and the Dawn satellite to was launched to the asteroids Vesta and Ceres in September 2007. Using a Delta II, the WorldView-1 satellite was also launched into a low Earth orbit on behalf of DigitalGlobe . The company's first launch to geostationary transfer orbit using an Atlas V 421 variant carrying
1700-551: A maximum liftoff thrust of 3,800,000 pounds-force (17,000 kN), enabling it to carry 56,000 pounds (25,000 kg) to low Earth orbit , 33,000 lb (15,000 kg) to a geostationary transfer orbit , and 16,000 lb (7,300 kg) to geostationary orbit . The Vulcan first stage is the same size as the Delta family's Common Booster Core , uses two BE-4 engines built by Blue Origin and fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid methane (liquefied natural gas). The second stage
1800-420: A new headquarters and R&D facility, called the O'Neill Building on June 6, 2020. Corn Ranch, commonly referred to as Launch Site One (LSO) is the company's launch site 30 miles north of Van Horn, Texas. The launch facility is located at 31.422927°N 104.757152°W. In addition to the sub-orbital launch pad, Launch Site One (LSO) includes a number of rocket engine test stands and engine test cells are at
1900-552: A next-generation launch vehicle. The company's high cost to launch left the company with few commercial and civil satellite launch customers, and increasingly reliant on U.S. military and spy agency contracts. After the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 , Congress passed a law in 2016 that prohibited the military from procuring additional launch services on vehicles that use the RD-180 engine after 2022. To reduce costs, ULA undertook
2000-475: A point of discussion, particularly as the EELV program experienced a cost breach in 2012. ULA was awarded a DoD contract in December 2013 to provide 36 rocket cores for up to 28 launches. The award drew protest from SpaceX , which said the cost of ULA's launches were approximately US$ 460 million each and proposed a price of US$ 90 million to provide similar launches. In response, Gass said ULA's average launch price
2100-513: A significant restructuring to streamlining operations by eventually consolidating from five launchpads to two, and reducing its workforce from 3,600 to 2,500 by 2018. To develop a new engine, ULA announced it would be partnering with Blue Origin to develop the BE-4 . The company also announced the Vulcan, a next-generation launch vehicle, to be funded through a public-private partnership. Bruno believed
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#17327727483422200-400: A single-test sequence." NASA has released a video of the test. As of December 2013 , the engine had demonstrated more than 160 starts and 9,100 seconds (2.5 h) of operation at the company's test facility near Van Horn, Texas . The BE-4 is a liquid oxygen /liquified natural gas (LOX/LNG) rocket engine that can produce 2,400 kN (550,000 lbf) of thrust. In late 2014,
2300-608: A space launch monopoly. The Federal Trade Commission ultimately granted ULA anti-trust clearance, prioritizing national security access to space over potential competition concerns. Michael Gass was announced as the first CEO of ULA and oversaw the merger of the two groups. Production was consolidated into one central plant in Decatur, Alabama while all engineering was moved into a facility in Littleton, Colorado . The parent companies retained responsibility for marketing and sales of
2400-428: A stable parking orbit . During the next hour, the second stage reignited to place Lucy on an interplanetary trajectory in a heliocentric orbit on a twelve-year mission to two groups of Sun-Jupiter Lagrange point Trojan asteroids as well as a close flyby of a mainbelt asteroid during one of three planned passes through the asteroid belt . If the spacecraft remains operational during the 12-year planned duration, it
2500-412: Is New Glenn. New Shepard is a fully reusable suborbital launch vehicle developed for space tourism . The vehicle is named after Alan Shepard , the first American astronaut in space. The vehicle is capable of vertical takeoff and landings and can carry humans and customer payloads to the edge of space . The New Shepard launch vehicle is a rocket that consists of a booster rocket and
2600-517: Is a liquid hydrogen / liquid oxygen (LH2/LOX) cryogenic engine that can produce 490 kN (110,000 lbf) and 710 kN (160,000 lbf) of thrust, respectively. Early thrust chamber testing began at NASA Stennis in 2013. By late 2013, the BE-3 had been successfully tested on a full-duration sub-orbital burn, with simulated coast phases and engine relights, "demonstrating deep throttle, full power, long-duration and reliable restart all in
2700-402: Is a liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen dual expander cycle engine currently under development, designed for use on Blue Moon . The engine produces 44 kN (10,000 lbf) of thrust. Its first ignition tests were performed in June 2019, with thrust chamber assembly testing continuing through 2023. The company partnered with Aerojet Rocketdyne to develop a pusher launch escape system for
2800-502: Is an American aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider . The company makes rocket engines for United Launch Alliance 's Vulcan rocket and is currently operating its suborbital reusable New Shepard vehicle and its heavy-lift launch vehicle named New Glenn . It is developing the Blue Moon human lunar lander for NASA 's Artemis program , and Orbital Reef space station in partnership with other companies. Blue Origin
2900-466: Is designed to be fully reusable, with the capsule returning to Earth via three parachutes and a solid rocket motor . The booster lands vertically on the same launchpad it took off from. The company has successfully launched and landed the New Shepard launch vehicle 26 times with 1 partial failure (deemed successful) and 1 failure. The launch vehicle has a length of 19.2 metres (63 ft),
3000-519: Is in Kent, Washington . Rocket development takes place at its headquarters. The company has continued to expand its Seattle-area offices and rocket production facilities since 2016, purchasing an adjacent 11,000 m (120,000 sq ft)-building. In 2017, the company filed permits to build a new 21,900 m (236,000 sq ft) warehouse complex and an additional 9,560 m (102,900 sq ft) of office space. The company established
3100-459: Is likely the controlled flight will be continued and directed at additional asteroid targets. Launch service provider A launch service provider is a type of company that uses launch vehicles and related services provided by a Launch Agency, including furnishing the launch vehicles, launch support, equipment and facilities, for the purpose of launching satellites into orbits or deep space. There are over 100 launch companies from all over
United Launch Alliance - Misplaced Pages Continue
3200-504: Is near the entrance to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Merritt Island, Florida . In addition to their Florida operations, they have also been leased the greenfield of Space Launch Complex 9 (SLC-9) at Vandenberg Space Force Base , where they plan to construct a New Glenn launch pad to give the launch vehicle polar orbit and Sun-synchronous orbit capabilities. The Blue Ring vehicle
3300-471: Is supported by two BE-4 engines. On June 7, 2023, United Launch Alliance (ULA) performed a Flight Readiness Firing of the Vulcan Centaur rocket at launch pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral , Florida , United States . The two BE-4 rocket engines worked as expected. In 2024, the company won its first NSSL contract. The vehicle to be used on the launches
3400-749: Is the Centaur V , an improved version of the Centaur III used on the Atlas, which is powered by two RL10 engines built by Aerojet Rocketdyne , fueled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The first stage can be supplemented by up to six GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters built by Northrop Grumman . ULA is investigating a way to partially reuse its launch vehicles with the Sensible Modular Autonomous Return Technology (SMART) system. This system envisions jettisoning
3500-590: Is the Interface Control Document (ICD), a contract that specifies the integration and mission requirements responsibilities across the service provider and the service solicitor. In some cases, an LSP is not required to launch a rocket. Government organizations such as the military and defense forces may conduct the launch themselves. Blue Origin Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P. , commonly referred to as Blue Origin ,
3600-459: Is the dust and crushed rock abundant on the surface of the Moon. Based on a process called molten regolith electrolysis, the breakthrough would bootstrap unlimited electricity and power transmission cables anywhere on the surface of the Moon. This process also produces oxygen as a useful byproduct for propulsion and life support." Gary Lai, chief architect of the New Shepard rocket said during
3700-456: The Centaur upper stage; it was the first three-burn mission for Atlas V. ULA's first commercial mission COSMO-SkyMed was launched on behalf of Italy's Ministry of Defense three months later using a Delta II rocket. On June 15, 2007, the engine in the Centaur upper stage of a ULA-launched Atlas V shut down early, leaving its payload – a pair of NROL-30 ocean surveillance satellites – in
3800-989: The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). The Delta IV rockets carried the NROL-26 , GOES 14 , and WGS-3 satellites. In 2010, Atlas V launches deployed the Solar Dynamics Observatory , the first Boeing X-37B , the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite, and the NROL-41 . The Delta II system placed the last COSMO-SkyMed and Delta IV launches deployed the GOES 15 , GPS Block IIF , and USA-223 satellites. ULA completed eleven launches in 2011, including five by Atlas, three by Delta II, and three by Delta IV. The Atlas system orbited another Boeing X-37, two NROL-34 signals intelligence satellites,
3900-678: The Delta rocket family from Boeing. As of 2024, the Delta family has been retired and the Atlas V is in the process of being retired. ULA began development of the Vulcan Centaur in 2014 as replacement for both the Atlas and Delta rocket families. The Vulcan Centaur completed its maiden flight in January 2024. The primary customers of ULA are the Department of Defense (DoD) and NASA , but it also serves commercial clients. Boeing and Lockheed Martin announced on 2 May 2005 that they would establish
4000-768: The Kepler and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer space telescopes. The Atlas launches carried the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and LCROSS mission as part of the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program , which was later intentionally crashed into the Moon and found the existence of water; other 2009 Atlas V launches in included Intelsat 14 , WGS-2 , PAN , and a weather satellite as part of
4100-957: The Kármán line . The passengers were Jeff Bezos , his brother Mark Bezos , Wally Funk , and Oliver Daemen , after the unnamed auction winner (later revealed to have been Justin Sun ) dropped out due to a scheduling conflict. Subsequent New Shepard passenger and cargo missions were: Blue Origin NS-17 , Blue Origin NS-18 , Blue Origin NS-19 , Blue Origin NS-20 , Blue Origin NS-21 and Blue Origin NS-23 . The company primarily employs an incremental approach from sub-orbital to orbital flight , with each developmental step building on its prior work. The company moved into
United Launch Alliance - Misplaced Pages Continue
4200-558: The New Shepard suborbital crew capsule. Aerojet Rocketdyne provides the Crew Capsule Escape Solid Rocket Motor (CCE SRM) while the thrust vector control system that steers the capsule during an abort is designed and manufactured by Blue Origin. The company has facilities across the United States which include five main locations and five field offices: The company’s headquarters
4300-713: The Secretariat of Communications and Transportation . The classified NROL-55 satellite was launched by an Atlas V rocket several days later. Atlas V rockets launched GPS Block IIF satellites and the Cygnus cargo spacecraft in November 2015 and December 2015, respectively. In 2016, Delta IV rockets carried the NROL-45 satellite and Air Force Space Command 6 mission in February 2016 and August 2016, respectively. During
4400-639: The Solar Orbiter spacecraft, an international collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA to provide a new global view of the Sun. In March 2020, an Atlas V also launched Advanced Extremely High Frequency 6 (AEHF-6), the first U.S. Space Force National Security Mission. In May 2020, ULA launched an Atlas V rocket carrying the USSF-7 mission with the X-37B spaceplane for
4500-610: The USA-195 (or WGS -1) communications satellite also occurred that year. ULA's tenth mission was launching satellite GPS IIR-17 into medium Earth orbit on a Delta II. The company completed its first Delta IV launch using the Delta IV Heavy rocket to place a payload into geosynchronous orbit in November 2007, which was followed by three more launches in December 2007. 2008 saw seven launches, including Atlas V's from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 3E and five others using
4600-463: The first crewed mission crossing the Kármán line at 100 kilometers in altitude, with Bezos as one of the crew. The company delivered its first BE-4 rocket engine to United Launch Alliance in January 2023. In September 2023, Bob Smith was replaced by Dave Limp as the chief executive officer . Eric Berger from Ars Technica noted that there is a wide gulf of technical capability between Blue Origin and SpaceX and other competitiors. While SpaceX
4700-483: The orbital spaceflight technology development business in 2014, initially as a rocket engine supplier via a contractual agreement to build the BE-4 rocket engine, for major US launch system operator United Launch Alliance (ULA) . United Launch Alliance (ULA) has said that the first flight of its Vulcan Centaur heavy-lift launch vehicle is scheduled to launch in Q4 of 2023. The heavy-lift launch vehicles main power
4800-465: The rocket garden at Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex . Delta IV is a group of five expendable launch systems in the Delta rocket family , which was introduced in the early 2000s. The Delta IV was originally designed by Boeing's Defense, Space & Security division for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, and became a ULA product in 2006. The Delta IV was mostly used for launching United States Air Force military payloads but
4900-999: The "551" and "N22" remain operational. Born from the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, the Atlas V's first successful launch took place in 2002. This expendable launch system utilizes a two-stage design. The first stage, named the Common Core Booster , uses a single Russian-made RD-180 engine, fueled by kerosene and liquid oxygen. The second stage, a Centaur III powered by the RL10 engine burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The first stage can be supplemented by up to five AJ-60A or GEM 63 solid rocket boosters. The Atlas V has undergone modifications for human spaceflight, specifically for Boeing's Starliner capsule. These modifications include upgraded computers for monitoring and abort capabilities, data links, and manual abort mechanisms for
5000-546: The BE-4 and BE-3U engines. The company is planning a third major expansion in Huntsville and the company was approved for the sale of 14.83 acres adjacent to its already sprawling campus at the price of $ 1.427 million. The Orbital Launch Site (OLS) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station , develops rockets and conducts extensive testing. The company converted Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) to launch New Glenn into orbit at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station . The facility
5100-440: The BE-4 engines and avionics as a single unit which would be protected by an inflatable heat shield during its descent back to Earth. After being slowed by parachutes and splashing down in the ocean, the heat shield would double as a raft, and the engines and avionics module would be retrieved for refurbishment. ULA estimates that this approach could reduce the cost of producing the first stage of its rockets by 65%. Development of
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#17327727483425200-615: The Blue Moon lunar lander proposal for the Artemis program in 2020. It also contested NASA's award to SpaceX for developing Starship HLS for the Artemis program in 2021, which indirectly led to a contract for its Blue Moon lander in 2023. The company was founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos , the founder of Amazon . Rob Meyerson joined the company in 2003 and served as the CEO before leaving
5300-546: The Delta II. The Atlas launch carried NROL-28 in March 2008 and in September 2008 the GeoEye-1 satellite was orbited by a Delta II rocket. ULA completed eight Delta II, five Atlas V, and three Delta IV launches in 2009. The Delta II launches carried three Space Tracking and Surveillance System satellites over two launches, two Global Positioning System satellites, and the NOAA-19 and WorldView-2 satellites, as well as
5400-448: The Delta IV family. Boeing flew it on one mission prior to the formation of ULA, and ULA on fifteen missions from 2007 to 2024. Its final launch was April 9, 2024 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station . The Delta IV Heavy combined a 5 m (16 ft) diameter DCSS and payload fairing with two additional CBCs. These are strap-on boosters which are separated earlier in the flight than the center CBC. The 5 meter diameter composite fairing
5500-486: The Delta and Atlas rockets. Cost pressures led ULA to announce it would lay off 350 of its 4,200 workers in early 2009, and decommissioned two of its seven launch pads . ULA also joined and later left the Commercial Spaceflight Federation during this period. The introduction of lower-cost competition and rising ULA launch costs attracted scrutiny. ULA's reliance on government funding for launch readiness, including maintaining multiple launchpads and rocket variants, became
5600-438: The Intruder and Quasar satellites, and the Van Allen Probes . Delta IVs deployed GPS and WGS satellites USA-233 , as well as NROL-25 and NROL-15 on behalf of the National Reconnaissance Office. In 2013, the Atlas flew eight times. The system launched the TDRS-11 , Landsat 8 , AEHF-3 , and NROL-39 satellites, as well as SBIRS, GPS, and MUOS satellites, as well as NASA's MAVEN space probe to Mars. Delta IV launches orbited
5700-407: The Orbital Launch Site, (hence its name) and a reusable booster refurbishment facility for the New Glenn launch vehicle, which is expected to land on a drone ship and return to Port Canaveral for refurbishment. Manufacturing of "large elements, such as New Glenn's first and second stages as well as the payload fairings and other large components will be made nearby in Exploration Park , which
5800-458: The U.S Space Force and the mission honored victims of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as first responders , health professionals , military personnel, and other essential workers . On 30 July 2020, Atlas V in the 541 configuration successfully launched Perseverance and Ingenuity as part of Mars 2020 towards Mars. In November 2020, ULA launched NROL-101, a top secret spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office, on board their Atlas V in
5900-409: The U.S. Air Force. The U.S. Air Force's X-37B spaceplane was carried by an Atlas V rocket in May 2015, and a Delta IV orbited the WGS-7 satellite in July 2015. The fourth MUOS satellite was orbited by an Atlas V in September 2015. ULA's 100th consecutive successful liftoff was completed on 2 October 2015, when an Atlas V rocket orbited a Mexican Satellite System communications satellite on behalf of
6000-456: The Vulcan Centaur has been funded as a public–private partnership with the U.S. government contributing approximately US$ 1.2 billion toward initial development costs. Boeing and Lockheed Martin are expected to contribute the remaining cost of development, estimated at 75% of the cost, as of March 2018. The NSSL program purchased a prototype Vulcan launch in October 2018, and was awarded a contract in August 2020 to launch 60% of NSSL missions over
6100-599: The Vulcan Centaur on the morning of October 4, 2024 at Cape Canaveral. The Space Force will examine the flight data to determine if Vulcan Centaur will be certified for national security missions. Developed by Lockheed Martin and transitioned to ULA in 2006, the Atlas V has been ULA's primary launch vehicle for over two decades. However, the rocket is currently nearing retirement, with all remaining flights booked and no new orders accepted. As of July 2024, Atlas V has completed 101 missions, with 15 launches scheduled. The rocket has been offered in eleven configurations , though only
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#17327727483426200-405: The Vulcan would offer costs that would make it competitive in the commercial satellite sector. However, despite these cost-cutting measures, ULA launches continued to be more expensive than those offered by SpaceX. The company's joint bid with Dynetics to develop a lunar lander for NASA was rejected in 2021 with the agency calling the companies bid "low in readiness." The Delta family of rockets
6300-399: The agency's Artemis V mission, which explores the Moon and prepares future crewed missions to Mars . The project includes an uncrewed test mission followed by a crewed Moon landing in 2029. The contract value is $ 3.4 billion. In mid-2024, the company announced initial acceptance testing completion on the thrusters for the MK1 variant of the Blue Moon lander. Blue Origin's first engine is
6400-456: The agency's effort to demonstrate more efficient methods of traveling through outer space for space exploration . One benefit to using nuclear fission as a propellent for spacecraft is that nuclear-based systems can have less mass than solar cells which means a spacecraft could be smaller while using the same amount of energy more efficiently. Nuclear fission concepts that can power both life support and propulsion systems could greatly reduce
6500-413: The biggest payload fairing in the world. Like the New Shepard , New Glenn's first stage is also designed to be reusable . In 2021, the company initiated conceptual design work on approaches to potentially make the second stage reusable as well, with the project codenamed " Project Jarvis ". NASA announced on February 9, 2023, that it had selected the New Glenn heavy-lift launch vehicle for
6600-402: The company announced that it was for sale. In December 2023, it was announced that Jeff Bezos was looking at purchasing the company to merge it with Blue Origin, which he also owns. When the joint venture was founded in 2006, ULA inherited the Atlas rocket family from Lockheed Martin and the Delta rocket family from Boeing. As of 2024, the Delta family has been retired and the Atlas V is in
6700-447: The company in 2018. Bob Smith served as CEO from 2018 to 2023. The current CEO is Dave Limp. Little is known about the company's activities in its early years. In 2006, the company purchased land for its New Shepard missions 30 miles North of Van Horn, Texas, United States called Launch Site One (LS1). In November 2006, the first test vehicle was launched, the Goddard rocket, which reached an altitude of 285 feet. After initiating
6800-426: The company signed an agreement with United Launch Alliance (ULA) to develop the BE-4 engine, for ULA's upgraded Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur rockets replacing the RD-180 Russian-made rocket engine. The newly developed heavy-lift launch vehicle will use two of the 2,400 kN (550,000 lbf) BE-4 engines on each first stage . The engine development program for the BE-4 began in 2011. On October 31, 2022,
6900-543: The cost and flight time during space exploration. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded General Atomics , Lockheed Martin and Blue Origin contracts to fund and build nuclear spacecraft under the agency's Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations program or DRACO program. The company was awarded $ 2.9 million to develop spacecraft component designs. In partnership with Blue Origin, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy , GE Research , Framatome and Materion , USNC-Tech won
7000-407: The crew. Notably, Starliner missions use a unique Atlas V configuration: two solid rocket boosters, no payload fairing, and a dual-engine Centaur second stage for a shallower launch profile and reduced crew G-forces. This configuration stands 172 feet tall, and ULA was contracted for nine Starliner missions with Atlas V. The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) provides the second stage boost for
7100-402: The development of an orbital rocket system prior to 2012, and stating in 2013 on their website that the first stage would perform a powered vertical landing and be reusable, the company publicly announced their orbital launch vehicle intentions in September 2015. In January 2016, the company indicated that the new rocket would be many times larger than New Shepard . The company publicly released
7200-732: The fifth and sixth Wideband Global SATCOM satellites WGS-5 and WGS-6 , as well as NROL-65 . In 2014, ULA's Atlas V orbited the TDRS-12 communications satellite in January, the WorldView-3 commercial satellite in August 2014, and the CLIO communications satellite during September and October 2014. Atlas rockets also carried the satellites DMSP-5D-3/F19, NROL-67, NROL-33, and NROL-35. Delta IV rockets orbited GPS satellites and two Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program satellites, and in July 2014, NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2
7300-438: The formation of ULA. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family and entered service in 1989. ULA flew thirty missions using Delta II starting in 2006. Delta II vehicles included the Delta 6000 and the two later Delta 7000 variants ("Light" and "Heavy"). The rocket flew its final mission ICESat-2 on 15 September 2018. A nearly-complete Delta II, made from flight-qualified spare parts, is displayed in its 7320-10 configuration in
7400-544: The greatest amount of customization and compatibility. It will reportedly be designed to accept docking from almost every in operation spacecraft like SpaceX Dragon 2 , Soyuz (spacecraft) , Dream Chaser , and Boeing Starliner . The initial modules will be: Life, Node, Core, and Research Modules. In 2024 NASA increased funding for Orbital Reef by $ 42 million, bringing the total award to $ 172 million. NASA plans to test spacecraft , engines and other propellent systems powered by nuclear fission no later than 2027 as part of
7500-529: The high-level design of the vehicle and announced its name in September 2016 as " New Glenn ". The New Glenn heavy-lift launch vehicle can be configured in both two-stage and three-stage variants. New Glenn is planned to launch in Q3 of 2024. On July 20, 2021, New Shepard performed its first crewed mission to sub-orbital space called Blue Origin NS-16 . The flight lasted approximately 10 minutes and crossed
7600-538: The hydrogen tank and are covered by the interstage during launch. Only three ICPS stages were ever built, one for each of the Artemis I , II , and III missions. Following these missions, the ICPS will be replaced by the Exploration Upper Stage built by Boeing. Delta II was an expendable launch system that was originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas , and was later built by Boeing prior to
7700-615: The initial configuration (Block 1) of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS). The ICPS design was based on the Delta Cryogenic Second Stage employed by ULA's Delta launch vehicles. The ICPS is positioned atop the SLS core stage and directly below the Orion spacecraft . The ICPS has a cylindrical liquid hydrogen tank, structurally designed to bear launch loads, while the liquid oxygen and single RL10B-2 engine are suspended from
7800-481: The jettison event of a traditional 'tractor' Launch Escape System, and (2) an innovative composite pressure vessel cabin that both reduces weight and increases safety of astronauts. This was later revealed to be a part of a larger system, designed for a bionic capsule, that would be launched atop an Atlas V rocket. On November 8, 2010, it was announced that the company had completed all milestones under its CCDev Space Act Agreement. In April 2011, The company received
7900-445: The launch itself. Some of these tasks may be delegated or sub-contracted to other companies. For example, United Launch Alliance formally subcontracted the production of GEM solid rocket motors for their Delta II and Delta IV (Medium version) rockets to Alliant Techsystems . (Both vehicles are now retired.) An LSP does not necessarily build all the rockets it launches. A document central to successful launch service provision
8000-633: The launch of a vehicle such as the Boeing Starliner or Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser . The rocket was developed as ULA faced pressure to respond to growing competition from SpaceX and its reusable rockets and the need to phase out the RD-180 engine used on the Atlas V, which is built in Russia, and subject to international sanctions after the Russian invasion of Ukraine . The Vulcan Centaur has
8100-596: The launch of two Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) spacecraft . The New Glenn heavy-lift launch vehicle will launch ESCAPADE in Q2 of 2025 with the ESCAPADE spacecraft entering Mars's orbit approximately one year after launch. In 2024, Blue Origin received funding from the USSF to assess New Glenn's ability to launch national security payloads. In May 2019, Jeff Bezos announced plans for
8200-564: The pathfinder awards at the Seattle Museum of Flight that [The company] "aims to be the first company that harvests natural resources from the moon to use here on Earth,” He also mentioned that the company is building a novel approach to extract outer space's vast resources. In the chart below, ♺ means "Flight Proven Booster" Capsule:23,269 ft (4 mi) Capsule:322,405 ft(61 mi) The company has contracted to do work for NASA on several development efforts. The company
8300-548: The process of being retired. ULA began development of the Vulcan Centaur in 2014 as replacement for both the Atlas and Delta rocket families. The Vulcan Centaur is a heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by ULA integrating technology from both its prior Atlas and Delta rocket families along with advancements. Vulcan has been designed to meet the requirements of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program and be capable of achieving human-rating certification to allow
8400-472: The program was also threatened in 2003 when it was found to be in possession of proprietary documents from Lockheed Martin. To end litigation and competition, both companies agreed to form the ULA joint venture. During the renewal of the EELV contract, the DoD said the merger would provide annual cost savings of $ 100–150 million. SpaceX attempted to challenge the merger on anti-trust grounds, saying it would create
8500-629: The site to support the hydrolox , methalox and storable propellant engines. There are three test cells for the BE-3 and BE-4 engines. The test cells support full-thrust and full-duration burns, and one supports short-duration, high-pressure preburner tests. Engine production is located in Huntsville, Alabama, at a 600,000 square foot facility called, "Blue Engine". The companies website states that, "The world-class engine manufacturing facility in The Rocket City conduct[s] high rate production of
8600-434: The vehicle began in early 2012. Illustrations of the vehicle, and the high-level specifications, were initially publicly unveiled in September 2016. The full vehicle was first unveiled on a launch pad on February 21, 2024. The rocket has a diameter of 7 meters (23 ft), and its first stage is powered by seven BE-4 engines. The fairing is claimed to have twice the payload volume of "any commercial launch system" and to be
8700-471: The world. These companies and their launch vehicles are in various stages of development, with some (such as SpaceX, RocketLab, and ULA) already in regular operation, while others are not. In 2018, the launch services sector accounted for $ 5.5 billion out of a total $ 344.5 billion "global space economy". It is responsible for the ordering, conversion or construction of the carrier rocket , assembly and stacking, payload integration, and ultimately conducting
8800-423: Was US$ 225 million, with future launches as low as US$ 100 million. In a leadership change at ULA in August 2014, Tory Bruno assumed the CEO position, marking a new strategic direction for the company. Under Bruno's leadership, ULA was under pressure to reduce costs to better compete with SpaceX and its partially reusable rockets, replace its Russian-made RD-180 with more efficient western-made engines, and introduce
8900-612: Was also the Delta IV Heavy with a Star-48BV kick stage, and the highest-ever spacecraft velocity. The company launched the final Delta II rocket, carrying ICESat-2 from Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC-2 on 15 September 2018. This marks the last launch of a Delta family rocket based on the original Thor IRBM . On 22 August 2019, ULA launched its last Delta IV Medium rocket for the GPS III Magellan project. An Atlas V carried Boeing's Starliner Orbital Flight Test (OFT) mission for NASA in December 2019. In 2020, an Atlas V carried
9000-470: Was also used to launch a number of U.S. government non-military payloads and one commercial satellite. Delta IV had two main versions, which allowed the family to accommodate a range of payload sizes and masses; models includes Medium, which had four configurations, and the Heavy . Payloads that would previously fly on Medium moved to either Atlas V or Vulcan Centaur . Delta IV Heavy was the largest member of
9100-597: Was announced in October 2023 by Blue Origin. It will have its own engine and is meant to handle orbital logistics and delivery. In March 2024, in partnership with the United States Space Force , it was announced that the Blue Ring’s capabilities will be tested soon on a mission called DarkSky-1. The company and its partners Sierra Space , Boeing , Redwire Space and Genesis Engineering Solutions won
9200-426: Was awarded $ 3.7 million in funding by NASA in 2009 via a Space Act Agreement under the first Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program for development of concepts and technologies to support future human spaceflight operations. NASA co-funded risk-mitigation activities related to ground testing of (1) an innovative 'pusher' escape system, that lowers cost by being reusable and enhances safety by avoiding
9300-461: Was carried by a Delta II. Orion 's first test flight was launched by a Delta IV Heavy rocket in December 2014, as part of Exploration Flight Test-1 . A Delta II rocket orbited a Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite in January 2015. In March 2015, an Atlas V rocket carried NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission spacecraft, and a Delta IV rocket orbited the GPS IIF-9 satellite on behalf of
9400-666: Was carried in November 2016, as was the WorldView-4 imaging satellite. In December 2016, the Wideband Global SATCOM's eighth satellite WGS-8 was launched on a Delta IV Medium rocket, and an Atlas V carried the EchoStar XIX communications satellite on behalf of Hughes Communications . In March 2017, WGS-9 was orbited by a Delta IV. Atlas V rockets carried NRO satellites, TDRS-M , and a Cygnus cargo capsule in 2017. The weather satellite NOAA-20 (JPSS-1)
9500-512: Was founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos and kept a very low profile about its development in the beginning. Its motto is Gradatim Ferociter , Latin for "Step by Step, Ferociously". At this time, Blue Origin was sustained by Bezos's private investment fund . Fifteen years later in 2015, the company first performed its uncrewed launch and landing of the New Shepard suborbital launch vehicle. In that year, Blue Origin also announced plans for its reusable New Glenn vehicle. In 2021, New Shepard performed
9600-408: Was initially completed in 2020 and is being used for the construction of New Glenn prototypes, rocket testing, and designs. The company facility is situated on 306 acres of land assembled from former Launch Complexes 11 , 36A , and 36B , along with using the adjacent Launch Complex 12 for storage. The land parcel used to build a rocket engine test stand for the BE-4 engine, a launch mount, called
9700-525: Was launched by a Delta II rocket in November 2017. An Atlas V carried the SBIRS-GEO 4 military satellite in January 2018. The Atlas V's launch of NASA 's InSight to Mars in 2018 was the first interplanetary probe to depart from the U.S. West Coast. In August 2018, a Delta IV Heavy launched Parker Solar Probe , NASA's solar space probe that was to visit and study the Sun 's outer corona in August 2018. It
9800-712: Was launching hundreds of rockets to orbit , Blue Origin has launched none. Blue Origin has also been involved in many NASA contracts throughout its history. The company has bids for the Commercial Crew Program to develop a crewed capsule for the International Space Station and use of the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 (disputed and now used by SpaceX). Blue Origin (alongside Lockheed Martin , Northrop Grumman , and Draper ) also submitted
9900-580: Was retired in early 2024, having been replaced in the market by the SpaceX's Falcon Heavy , which was more powerful, less expensive, and faster to build, leading ULA to lose all commercial contracts. ULA planned an orderly retirement and had procured and had in hand 100 of the engines to continue building Atlas V as it developed a replacement rocket. At the time of the announcement they could fly 29 more missions and all of them had been sold, so no new orders would be accepted. ULA faces an uncertain future. In 2023,
10000-454: Was standard on the Delta IV Heavy, with an aluminum isogrid fairing also available. The aluminum trisector (three-part) fairing was built by Boeing and derived from a Titan IV fairing. The trisector fairing was first used on the DSP-23 flight. Delta IV Heavy had 16 launches in its lifetime. Statistics are up-to-date as of 4 October 2024. The first launch conducted by ULA was
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