ULA’s Atlas V Rocket Launches 100th and Final National Security Mission
Liftoff of the USSF-51 mission - ULA’s 100th national security launch and the last launch for Atlas V - occurred at 6.45 am EDT (1045 GMT) this morning (Tues, July 30).
(Cape Canaveral, Florida) United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched its Atlas V rocket on a classified mission for the U.S. Space Force, USSF-51, this morning (Tues, July 30) at 6.45 am EDT (1045 GMT) from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) sunrise launch of its Altas V USSF-51 mission courtesy of United Launch Alliance.
This morning’s launch marked the last national security space launch (NSSL) for a member of the Atlas rocket family, which has been flying since 1957, and the 100th national security mission for ULA, according to a July 19th press release from ULA.
USSF-51 marks the conclusion of national security launches using the Atlas V fleet as ULA transitions to next generation, highly flexible Vulcan rocket for continued access to space, per ULA.
The Atlas V debuted in 2002 and has flown 100 missions to date; the 100th launch, which occurred last month, sent Boeing’s Starliner capsule toward the International Space Station with Two NASA astronauts aboard, marking the first crewed flight for both Atlas V and Starliner, , per Space.com.
Previously, Atlas V served the U.S. Air Force, Space Force and National Reconnaissance Office for 17 years with 100 percent launch success, accomplishing missions to low-, medium-, transfer and geosynchronous orbits across the entire performance range of the Atlas V configurations, according to ULA.
Photo of the USSF-51 payload being raised into position atop ULA’s Atlas V courtesy of United Launch Alliance (ULA).
ULA was formed in December 2006 as an American launch service provider via a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing.
