Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance, has said ULA will adopt new business strategies as the company aims to stay ahead in the space launch services market, Reuters reported Friday. Andrea Shalal writes ULA, a Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture, seeks to grow its customer base to include commercial firms and reduce cycle time […] More

Lockheed Martin is set to perform on-orbit testing on the third Mobile User Objective System satellite built for the U.S. Navy following the Jan. 20 launch of the satellite. The MUOS-3 took off aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and responded to commands from Lockheed’s team at the Point Mugu, California-based Naval satellite […] More

Boeing has completed NASA’s ground segment critical design review of its CST-100 crew space transportation system as part of the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA said Dec. 10 that Boeing underwent a three-week review of its ground-based operation processes and system designs for the spacecraft, including planned assembly and processing facilities at the Kennedy […] More

The U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin team has encased the latest Mobile User Objective System satellite within its payload fairing ahead of the scheduled Jan. 20 launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Iris Bombelyn, vice president of narrowband communications at Lockheed, said Friday the MUOS-3 satellite will work to expand the coverage of the MUOS mobile satellite communications network. She […] More

United Launch Alliance helped the National Reconnaissance Office launch a classified national defense satellite aboard an ULA-built rocket on Friday. The company’s Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle 541 lifted off Friday at 7:19 p.m Pacific Time from Space Launch Complex-3 in California to deliver the NROL-35 payload into orbit, the company said Saturday. The […] More

Boeing has completed a certification baseline review of NASA‘s human space transportation systems as part of a series of preparations for crewed missions to the International Space Station. NASA approved the review to validate the baseline design of the Crew Space Transportation-100 spacecraft, United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and related components, NASA said Dec. 1. “It’s important for us to […] More

NASA took the first step Friday in what it hopes to be a new era for human space exploration as the agency sent the Orion capsule into a nearly four-hour orbit to evaluate its potential for future missions via Boeing‘s Space Launch System. Engineers for NASA and Orion constructor Lockheed Martin focused much of their attention […] More

NASA will launch the Lockheed Martin-built Orion unmanned spacecraft this week as part of the agency’s efforts to build capability for future space missions that would bring humans to Mars, Bloomberg Businessweek reported Tuesday. Justin Bachman writes that this first test flight will bring Orion 3,600 miles into space with the help of United Launch Alliance‘s Delta IV rocket. […] More

United Launch Alliance has launched the latest global positioning system satellite to join the on-orbit constellation that will provide timing and navigation services for a U.S. Air Force program. The company said Wednesday that an Atlas V 401 Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle carried the GPS IIF-8 satellite to space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president for the […] More

Dynetics and Aerojet Rocketdyne are using 3-D printing technology to build a new rocket engine in an effort to replace the current Russian-built engine used to send Atlas V to space, Nextgov reported Thursday. Marcus Weisgerber reports that the project started two years ago before the White House, Defense Department and Congress indicated plans to replace the RD-180 engine due to tension with the Russian government. “Going […] More

A United Launch Alliance rocket has moved to a launch pad in Florida ahead of its December mission to carry the Lockheed Martin-built Orion spacecraft for an initial test flight. NASA secured the Delta IV heavy-lift rocket into a vertical launch position on Wednesday at the Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force […] More

The Defense Department could issue a certification for Space Exploration Technologies to compete for military satellite launch programs by Dec. 1, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Doug Cameron writes SpaceX will get the chance to pursue work to launch satellites for DoD once the company’s Falcon 9 rocket is approved. Boeing and Lockheed Martin‘s joint […] More