Boeing has received its second task order from NASA to transport crews and their cargo to the International Space Station under the company’s potential $4.2 billion Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract. The company secured the order after it completed internal design assessments and interim developmental milestones for its CST-100 Starliner space capsule, United Launch Alliance-built Atlas V […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne has finished a design review of its engine offering to power United Launch Alliance rockets such as Atlas V and Vulcan as well as other launcher platforms for national security satellites of the U.S. The company designed and proposed its AR1 technology as a potential alternative to the Russian-built RD-180 engine that ULA uses to send satellites into space for […] More

Orbital ATK has received a contract from United Launch Alliance to produce large composite structures for installation onboard ULA-built Delta IV and Atlas V rockets. Orbital ATK said Thursday its contract with the Boeing–Lockheed Martin joint venture was awarded in support of the U.S. Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles initiative. “Our support of ULA EELV […] More

Johns Hopkins University, Tanner Research and Moog have received research contracts from the U.S. Air Force to study potential engines intended to power United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket, Space News reported Tuesday. Mike Gruss writes the move is part of a larger plan to replace the Russian-built RD-180 engine with a U.S.-made rocket engine […] More

The International Space Station captured an Orbital ATK-built spacecraft at 6:19 a.m. Eastern time to start a 50-day berthing period for astronauts on the ISS to carry out scientific studies with cargo and other research supplies delivered by the company’s Cyngus ship. NASA said Wednesday astronaut Kjell Lindgren used the space station’s robotic arm to take in Cyngus and the spacecraft […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne has finished its 100th AJ60 rocket motor for United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V launch vehicle. Aerojet said Monday 87 AJ60 solid rocket boosters have been used in 24 Atlas V missions since it won the contract from the Boeing–Lockheed Martin joint venture in 1999. AJ60 is a 67-foot long wound composite SRB designed to carry over 90,000 […] More

Blue Orgin‘s New Shepard rocket technology has completed a launch and landing process during an unmanned flight test Monday at a private range in West Texas, Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos wrote in a blog entry posted after the exercise. He said New Shepard flew at a high altitude through 119 miles per hour crosswinds before the system reignited a BE-3 […] More

An Aerospace Corp.-built CubeSat has reached orbit after it lifted onboard the Atlas V rocket at California-based Vandenberg Air Force Base Thursday. NASA said Saturday the CubeSat spacecraft is part of the Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration mission that will work to assess the capability of the miniature satellite to perform laser-based data transfer at a […] More

United Launch Alliance has selected Orbital ATK as the sole provider of solid boosters for the Atlas V and Vulcan launch vehicles as part of a long-term strategic partnership between both businesses that takes effect in 2019. Orbital ATK said Tuesday it will design and develop two new motors for the Boeing–Lockheed Martin joint venture to support both government and commercial […] More

United Launch Alliance has worked with the U.S. Air Force to implement off-site vertical integration on the Atlas V rocket’s Centaur upper stage and other structural components. The company said Tuesday OVI works to drive down the number of lifting operations at the Cape Canaveral Vertical Integration Facility and relocate them indoors to the Delta Operations Center. These […] More

Orbital ATK has bought two United Launch Alliance-built rockets to deliver supplies to the International Space Station for NASA in December and in early 2016, Space News reported Tuesday. Dan Leone writes the Atlas V launch system would help Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft deliver approximately 7,716 pounds of pressurized cargo to ISS. ULA, a Boeing–Lockheed Martin […] More

The United Launch Alliance and Ball Aerospace & Technologies Student Rocket Launch event featured sport rockets and payloads built by students and interns as part of efforts to promote science, technology, engineering and math careers. ULA said Saturday interns at the two companies and K-12 students from Colorado worked with mentors to design, build and test […] More