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United Launch Alliance

  • Peregrine lifting off
    Space
    Peregrine launch sees US on way to the Moon after five decades
    The first US Moon landing mission in 52 years is on its way after Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One (PM1) lifted off this morning from Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida atop a ULA Vulcan rocket at 2:18 am EST.
  • Artist's rendering of Vulcan/Centaur lifting off
    Space
    US Moon mission to mark maiden flight of new Vulcan rocket
    When the first US Moon landing mission since Apollo lifts off tomorrow, it will be launched into space by a new generation of rockets called Vulcan, which are powered by two methane engines and the longest single-segment solid rocket booster ever built.
  • "We Rise Together – with the Light of the Moon" will be placed on the lunar surface as part of a larger mission, which is part of a NASA initiative
    Space
    Space exploration consortium announces plan to put artwork on the Moon
    While most artists aspire to have their work exhibited somewhere like The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a piece by Dubai-based painter Sacha Jafri may soon be soaring to even loftier heights – plans call for it to be permanently displayed on the Moon.
  • The US Space Force's first payload en route to orbit
    Space
    US Space Force sends its first payload into orbit
    The US Space Force has delivered its first national security payload into orbit, with a satellite successfully lifting off atop a United Launch Alliance rocket today to complete a network of protected communications satellites for US armed forces.
  • Blue Origin is one of six companies selected for NASA’s Tipping Point solicitation
    Space
    NASA looks beyond the tipping point with $44 million investment in private space tech
    NASA is giving commercial spaceflight a boost by awarding six American companies ten contracts worth a total of US$44 million to develop what the space agency calls "tipping point" technologies.
  • The plan is to place a Bigelow B330 inflatable habitat in lunar orbit by 2022
    Space
    Bigelow and ULA plan orbital moonbase by 2022
    Bigelow Aerospace and United Launch Alliance have announced plans to launch a Bigelow B330 expandable module atop a ULA Vulcan launch vehicle with the aim of sending it into Low Lunar Orbit (LLO)​ and turning it into a lunar depot by the end of 2022.
  • The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, is attached to the International Space Station
    Space
    First expandable habitat installed on ISS
    The International Space Station got a bit bigger today as the first human-rated inflatable structure to fly in space​ – the experimental​ Bigelow Expandable Activity Module – was successfully attached to the Tranquility module over a four-hour period.
  • The Vulcan rocket will use a reusable booster engine configuration
    Space
    ULA Vulcan launcher will return to Earth by helicopter
    The United Launch Alliance (ULA) has entered the reusable launcher race with its Next Generation Launch System (NGLS), also known as the Vulcan rocket. This will incorporate a rocket engine assembly that is snared in mid-air by a helicopter after reentering the Earth's atmosphere
  • The BE-3 engine recently completed its acceptance testing
    Space
    Blue Origin's BE-3 engine cleared for flight
    Blue Origin has taken a step closer to lifting into space by announcing that its BE‑3 rocket engine has completed acceptance testing, opening the door to its first flight. The BE-3 is part of Blue Origin's program to develop a completely reusable launch system.
  • NASA's SMAP satellite blasts off from the Vandenburg Air Force Base, California (Image: NASA, United Launch Alliance)
    Space
    NASA successfully launches SMAP satellite
    On its third attempt, NASA has successfully launched its Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket. The orbiter is designed to take high resolution moisture maps on a global scale, mapping the entire planet in the space of only two to three days.
  • A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA’s Orion spacecraft mounted atop is seen alongside the Mobile Service Tower (Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
    Space
    Update: NASA announces new Orion launch date
    NASA has announced that the Orion EFT-1 mission launch has been rescheduled for 7:05 am EST on Friday.