Space News reports that United Launch Alliance said Wednesday that the company will use its Atlas 5 rocket for the USSF-51 mission. The mission was supposed to be “the first national security mission for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket,” but the Vulcan has fallen behind schedule. The USSF-51 mission was “awarded to ULA in August 2020 and is scheduled to launch in late 2022.” USSF-51 is a “classified mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.”
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Tag: Atlas V
ULA Atlas 5 Rocket Launches NRO Satellite
Space News reported, “A National Reconnaissance Office satellite flew to orbit Nov. 13 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.” The launch took place “at 5:32 p.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.”
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Atlas 5 Rocket Prepared for Friday NRO Launch
Spaceflight Now reports that the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket “made its third trip to a Cape Canaveral launch pad Thursday, rolling into position for liftoff Friday afternoon with a classified payload for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency.” The US Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron issued a forecast Thursday morning that indicates a 90 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for the launch with cumulus clouds being the primary weather concern. The NROL-101 mission “will launch a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, which owns the U.S. government’s fleet of intelligence-gathering surveillance satellites.”
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ULA Delays Launch of Atlas V Rocket
Florida Today reports that ULA has postponed the launch of an Atlas V rocket carrying a satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. The mission was scheduled to lift off Tuesday evening, but ULA now plans to launch the rocket at 5:54 p.m. EDT Wednesday. ULA said in a statement, “Upon arriving at the launch pad we experienced an upper payload environmental control system flow rate reduction. … The team is in the process of rolling the Atlas V back to the vertical integration facility to complete troubleshooting. The vehicle and payload are healthy.”
Full Story (Florida Today)