United Launch Alliance
Blue Origin retains engine lead as House considers limitations on launch system funding
An independent assessment of rocket engine development delivered to a House committee last week has concluded that Blue Origin remains well ahead of Aerojet Rocketdyne despite a recent testing setback.
Amendment to Senate bill allows continued imports of Russian rocket engines
Senators overwhelmingly passed an amendment to an Iran-Russia sanctions bill June 15 to fix language some argued could have prevented NASA and others from launching missions on rockets that use Russian engines.
Tory Bruno says ULA didn’t get to compete for Air Force X-37B launch that went to SpaceX
The Air Force declined to discuss how SpaceX got the contract and if it was sole-sourced.
Blue Origin suffers BE-4 testing mishap
Blue Origin said May 14 it suffered a setback in the development of its BE-4 engine with the loss of a key hardware component in a recent test.
ULA gives short-term boost to Lockheed Martin space earnings
Lockheed Martin Space Systems reported an increase in profit in its fiscal first quarter April 25 thanks in part to an increase in earnings from its stake in United Launch Alliance, but company officials cautioned that it expected ULA’s contributions to decline later this year.
Atlas 5 launches Cygnus cargo mission to ISS
An Atlas 5 successfully launched a Cygnus spacecraft April 18 carrying three and a half tons of cargo for the International Space Station.
RD-180 provider seeks additional ULA engine order
The new chief executive of the U.S.-Russian joint venture that provides RD-180 engines to United Launch Alliance said April 6 he hopes to win an order for additional engines.
Agreement on goals, but no easy answer for future of national security space launch, experts say
“Everybody agrees on the long term,” said William LaPlante, former Air Force assistant secretary for acquisition. But getting to those goals is the hard part.
SpaceX’s low cost won GPS 3 launch, Air Force says
But the military won’t be using a reusable rocket anytime soon
ULA’s first launch of the year will be SBIRS GEO-3
The prominent launch company announced an Air Force mission will be its first 2017 launch
Atlas 5 launches EchoStar 19
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 successfully launched a broadband satellite for EchoStar Dec. 18 on the company’s final mission of the year.
ULA debuts online pricing tool for Atlas launches
An interactive website unveiled by United Launch Alliance Nov. 30 both offers potential customers the ability to get price estimates for launches as well as serves as the latest sign of the ten-year-old company’s self-described transformation in a more competitive launch market.
Hurricane damage at Florida launch facilities not as bad as feared
A powerful hurricane moving up Florida’s east coast Oct. 7 caused some damage to NASA, military and commercial facilities at Cape Canaveral, but far less than what some had feared prior to the storm’s arrival.
ULA says it could accommodate additional Atlas 5 launch next year
United Launch Alliance, which is trying to bolster its appeal to potential launch customers, said Sept. 13 it has at least one spot open on its 2017 manifest for an Atlas 5 launch.
Atlas 5 to launch Mars 2020 rover
NASA’s next Mars rover will fly on the same version of the launch vehicle that launched its predecessor, NASA announced Aug. 25.
No complaint from SpaceX as Air Force skips competition for pair of NRO missions
The U.S. Air Force said it plans to award United Launch Alliance a sole-source contract to build and launch two Delta 4 Heavy rockets for National Reconnaissance Office between 2020 and 2023, according to an Aug. 4 announcement.
