United Launch Alliance has requested an additional supply of Russian-made RD-180 rocket engines for use in the launch of Atlas V rockets to space, Reuters reported Wednesday. Andrea Shalal writes the Lockheed Martin–Boeing joint venture intends for the 20 Russian engine orders to fulfill customer demands for civil and commercial launch services while ULA’s development of […] More

United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno said the Vulcan Centaur rocket is being prepared to undergo a series of tests at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and is now set for its maiden launch no earlier than May 4, SpaceNews reported Thursday. “We are now targeting the fourth […] More

Space industry veteran Tiphaine Louradour was named Spaceflight CEO, taking over the role from Curt Blake, who served as chief executive and president of the launch service provider since 2013.  Louradour has 25 years of experience and she previously served as president of International Launch Services and president at United Launch Alliance for ULS global […] More

Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance and a previous Wash100 Award winner, said the U.S. Space Force should do large-scale purchases of heavy launch services in preparation for a possible rocket shortage in the coming years, SpaceNews reported Thursday. Bruno cautioned that the U.S. national security launch program could be slowed down as a “perfect storm” has […] More

Boeing’s X-37B spacecraft landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Saturday following a 908-day on-orbit stint that was its sixth Orbital Test Vehicle mission with the U.S. Space Force. The unmanned reusable spacecraft hosted multiple payloads for the U.S. military and partners including the Naval Research Laboratory’s solar energy project and the U.S. Air Force […] More

United Launch Alliance is close to completing the construction of its new heavy-lift rocket and the Boeing–Lockheed Martin joint venture expects to transport the vehicle from its factory in Decatur, Alabama, factory to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida in November. Vulcan Centaur is on track for its inaugural launch in the first […] More

Amazon will equip its broadband satellites with laser communications terminals to enable the high-speed transfer of remote-sensing data to the Space Development Agency’s low-Earth orbit satellite constellation, SpaceNews reported Friday. SDA aims to use some satellites from Amazon’s Project Kuiper as translators between commercial remote-sensing companies and the Department of Defense’s Transport Layer, a mesh […] More

A National Reconnaissance Office payload took off on Saturday aboard a United Launch Alliance-built Delta IV Heavy rocket that launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as part of the NROL-91 national security mission. “This mission was ULA’s 96th National Security mission and the NRO’s 10th mission on board a Delta IV Heavy launch […] More

Boeing and NASA are in preparation to send two space agency astronaut test pilots to the International Space Station for the first crewed flight of the aerospace company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. The launch of Boeing Crew Flight Test is planned for early February 2023 as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, and CFT astronauts Barry […] More

Northrop Grumman has started a project to expand its manufacturing facilities in Magna, Utah, as the company aims to increase its throughput for solid rocket boosters by more than three times. The multiphase construction project will add areas for producing rocket motor cases and mixing and casting propellants, the company said Wednesday. Falls Church, Virginia-based […] More

United Launch Alliance has sent to space its Atlas V rocket carrying a national security mission for the U.S. Space Force, marking the 151st time the company hosted a launch with 100 percent mission success. The company said Saturday its Atlas V 541 configuration rocket launched from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force […] More

Northrop Grumman has received a potential $2 billion contract from United Launch Alliance to ramp up production of Graphite Epoxy Motor and extended length variation solid rocket boosters for ULA’s Atlas and Vulcan Centaur launch vehicles. The multiyear contract with ULA will also allow Northrop to modernize and expand tooling and existing facilities, Northrop said […] More