List of Atlas launches |
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1957–1959 · 1960–1969 · 1970–1979 · 1980–1989 · 1990–1999 · 2000–2009 · 2010–2019 · 2020–2029 |
Flight No. | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass (kg) | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
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AV-087 | 10 February 2020, 04:03 | Atlas V 411 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | Solar Orbiter | 1,800 | Heliocentric | ESA | Success [19] |
ESA/NASA Heliophysics probe | ||||||||
AV-086 | 26 March 2020, 20:18 | Atlas V 551 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | USA-298 (AEHF-6, TDO-2) | 6,168 | GTO | US Space Force | Success [20] |
Sixth and final Advanced Extremely High Frequency military communications satellite | ||||||||
AV-081 | 17 May 2020, 13:14 | Atlas V 501 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | USA-299 (X-37B OTV-6, FalconSat-8) | ~5,000 | LEO | United States Space Force | Success [21] |
Sixth flight of the X-37B military spaceplane; first with a service module, plus FalconSat-8 satellite. | ||||||||
AV-088 | 30 July 2020, 11:50 | Atlas V 541 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | Mars 2020 (inc Perseverance , Ingenuity ) | 3,839 | Heliocentric | NASA | Success [22] |
Spacecraft for NASA's Mars 2020 mission. | ||||||||
AV-090 | 13 November 2020, 22:32 | Atlas V 531 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | USA-310 (NROL-101) | Unknown | MEO [a] | NRO | Success [23] |
Unknown National Reconnaissance Office payload, first Atlas launch with updated GEM-63 strap-on solid rocket boosters. Originally thought to be a Molniya mission. Later sightings instead pointed towards a MEO mission. Likely an experimental payload. |
Flight No. | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass (kg) | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
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AV-091 | 18 May 2021, 17:37 | Atlas V 421 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | USA 315 (SBIRS GEO-5) | ~4,500 [24] | GTO | United States Space Force | Success [25] |
Fifth Space-Based Infrared System Geostationary satellite. | ||||||||
AV-092 | 27 September 2021, 18:12 | Atlas V 401 | Vandenberg, SLC-3E | Landsat 9 L9EFS | 2,711 [26] +510 kg | SSO | NASA / USGS | Success [27] |
Eighth Landsat geological survey satellite in orbit. Additionally launched the U.S. Space Force (USSF) Landsat-9 ESPA Flight System (L9EFS) which delivered several additional cubesats to orbit as a result of a cooperative engagement between NASA and U.S. Space Force to increase access to space for small satellite systems. [28] | ||||||||
AV-096 | 16 October 2021, 09:34 | Atlas V 401 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | Lucy | 1,550 | Heliocentric | NASA | Success [29] |
NASA mission to explore six Jupiter trojan asteroids. [30] Final interplanetary mission launched by the Atlas rocket family. | ||||||||
AV-093 | 7 December 2021, 10:19 | Atlas V 551 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | STP-3 (STPSat-6 & LDPE-1) | Unknown | GEO | United States Space Force | Success [31] |
The primary payload is the STPSat-6 satellite carrying SABRS-3, NASA's LCRD, and seven Defense Department Space Experiments Review Board space weather and situational awareness payloads. Alongside STPSat-6 was an integrated propulsive EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (IP-ESPA) holding up to six payloads. [32] The STP-3 mission also debuted three engineering features designed to reduce risk and accumulate flight experience before use on Vulcan Centaur: an Out-of-Autoclave (OoA) payload fairings, an in-flight power system and GPS enhanced navigation. [33] The launch was delayed multiple times, first in January due to the launch readiness of the STPSat-6 satellite, [34] in June due to some ringing of the RL10-C's new carbon nozzle extension observed during the SBIRS GEO-5 mission, [35] and in November due to a space vehicle processing issue. [36] |
Flight No. | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass (kg) | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AV-084 | 21 January 2022, 19:00 | Atlas V 511 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | USSF-8 (GSSAP 5 & 6) | Unknown | GEO | United States Space Force | Success [37] |
USSF-8 launched two identical Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness satellites, GSSAP-5 and 6, directly to a geosynchronous orbit. [38] First and only flight of 511 configuration. | ||||||||
AV-095 | 1 March 2022, 21:38 | Atlas V 541 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | GOES-T | 5,200 | GTO | NOAA | Success [39] |
GOES meteorological satellite. GOES-T, which will be renamed GOES-18 once it reaches geostationary orbit, will replace GOES-17 as NOAA's operational GOES West satellite. [40] | ||||||||
AV-082 | 19 May 2022, 22:54 | Atlas V N22 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | Boeing Orbital Flight Test 2 (Boeing Starliner S2.1) | ~13,000 | LEO (ISS) | Boeing | Success [41] |
Atlas V releases the Starliner spacecraft on a transatmospheric orbit [42] with apogee of 181 km and a perigee of 72 km. [43] Starliner used its own engines to enter low Earth orbit and make its way to the International Space Station. | ||||||||
AV-094 | 1 July 2022, 23:15 | Atlas V 541 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | USSF-12 (WFOV & USSF-12 Ring) | Unknown | GEO | United States Space Force | Success [44] |
Rideshare mission consisting of 2 spacecraft. The forward payload was the Wide-field of View (WFOV) testbed that informs the Next Gen Overhead Persistent Infrared program (NG-OPIR) which will replace the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS). The aft payload was a propulsive ESPA named the USSF-12 Ring, which is a style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #EEE); color: var(--color-base, black); vertical-align: middle; white-space: nowrap; text-align: center; " class="table-Unknown" | Unknown mission for the Department of Defence. 100th flight of an RD-180 engine. | ||||||||
AV-097 | 4 August 2022, 10:29 | Atlas V 421 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | USA-336 (SBIRS GEO-6) | ~4,500 [45] | GTO | United States Space Force | Success [46] |
Sixth and final Space-Based Infrared System Geostationary satellite. Final flight of an Atlas V with 4-meter fairing from Cape Canaveral. | ||||||||
AV-099 | 4 October 2022, 21:36 | Atlas V 531 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | SES-20 & SES-21 | ~3,300 | GEO | SES | Success [47] |
Boeing built communication satellites. Satellites launched on a dual stack configuration. SES-20 will be located as an in-orbit spare at 103° West, while SES-21 will be operated at 131° West. [48] | ||||||||
AV-098 | 10 November 2022, 09:49 | Atlas V 401 | Vandenberg, SLC-3E | JPSS-2 (NOAA-21) & LOFTID | 4,154 | SSO | NOAA | Success [49] |
Second JPSS weather satellite; joint NASA/ULA inflatable heat shield demonstrator (LOFTID). [50] Last launch of an Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Final flight of an Atlas V with a 4-meter fairing. 100th use of Single Engine Centaur. |
Flight No. | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass (kg) | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AV-102 | 10 September 2023, 12:47 | Atlas V 551 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | USA-346, USA-347 & USA-348 (NROL-107, Silentbarker) [51] | Unknown | GEO | NRO | Success [52] |
Unknown NRO payload. Final NRO launch on an Atlas V. | ||||||||
AV-104 | 6 October 2023, 18:06 | Atlas V 501 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | KuiperSat-1 & KuiperSat-2 | Unknown | LEO | Kuiper Systems | Success [53] |
Project Kuiper Protoflight mission, carrying two demonstrator satellites. This is the Final Atlas V 501. |
Flight No. | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass (kg) | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
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AV-085 | 5 June 2024, 14:52 | Atlas V N22 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | Boeing Crew Flight Test (Boeing Starliner S3.2 Calypso ) | ~13,000 | LEO (ISS) | NASA | Success [54] |
Crewed flight test of the Starliner spacecraft to the ISS, with Sunita Williams and Barry E. Wilmore. First crewed launch of Atlas V. 100th Atlas V launch. | ||||||||
AV-101 | 30 July 2024, 10:45 | Atlas V 551 | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 | USSF-51 | Unknown | GEO | United States Space Force | Success [55] |
First launch for United Launch Alliance under National Security Space Launch. Launch vehicle transferred from Vulcan Centaur to Atlas V. Final USSF launch on an Atlas V. |
In August 2021, ULA announced that Atlas V would be retired, and all 29 remaining launches had been sold. [56] As of August 2024 [update] , 15 launches remain, all of which are listed here: six Starliner missions, eight launches for Project Kuiper, and one launch for ViaSat.
The Centaur is a family of rocket propelled upper stages that has been in use since 1962. It is currently produced by U.S. launch service provider United Launch Alliance, with one main active version and one version under development. The 3.05 m (10.0 ft) diameter Common Centaur/Centaur III flies as the upper stage of the Atlas V launch vehicle, and the 5.4 m (18 ft) diameter Centaur V has been developed as the upper stage of ULA's new Vulcan rocket. Centaur was the first rocket stage to use liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants, a high-energy combination that is ideal for upper stages but has significant handling difficulties.
Delta IV was a group of five expendable launch systems in the Delta rocket family. It flew 45 missions from 2002 to 2024. Originally designed by Boeing's Defense, Space and Security division for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, the Delta IV became a United Launch Alliance (ULA) product in 2006. The Delta IV was primarily a launch vehicle for United States Air Force (USAF) military payloads, but was also used to launch a number of United States government non-military payloads and a single commercial satellite.
Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas launch vehicle family. It was designed by Lockheed Martin and has been operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA) since 2006. It is used for DoD, NASA, and commercial payloads. It is America's longest-serving active rocket. After 87 launches, in August 2021 ULA announced that Atlas V would be retired, and all 29 remaining launches had been sold. As of July 2024, 15 launches remain. Production ceased in 2024. Other future ULA launches will use the Vulcan Centaur rocket.
Space Launch Complex 3 (SLC-3) is a launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base that consists of two separate launch pads. SLC-3E (East) was used by the Atlas V launch vehicle before it was decommissioned in August 2021 with the final launch taking place on November 10, 2022 at 09:49, while SLC-3W (West) has been demolished.
United Launch Alliance, LLC (ULA) is an American launch service provider formed in December 2006 as a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The company designs, assembles, sells and launches rockets, but the company subcontracts out the production of rocket engines and solid rocket boosters.
Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41), previously Launch Complex 41 (LC-41), is an active launch site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. As of 2024, the site is used by United Launch Alliance (ULA) for Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur launches. Previously, it had been used by the United States Air Force for Titan IIIC, Titan IIIE, and Titan IV launches.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. Established in 1958, it succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the U.S. space development effort a distinct civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. It has since led most of America's space exploration programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968–1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. Currently, NASA supports the International Space Station (ISS) along with the Commercial Crew Program, and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the lunar Artemis program.
The Boeing Starliner is a spacecraft designed to transport crew to and from the International Space Station (ISS) and other low-Earth-orbit destinations. Developed by Boeing under NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP), it consists of a reusable crew capsule and an expendable service module.
Development of the Commercial Crew Program (CCDev) began in the second round of the program, which was rescoped from a smaller technology development program for human spaceflight to a competitive development program that would produce the spacecraft to be used to provide crew transportation services to and from the International Space Station (ISS). To implement the program, NASA awarded a series of competitive fixed-price contracts to private vendors starting in 2011. Operational contracts to fly astronauts were awarded in September 2014 to SpaceX and Boeing, and NASA expected each company to complete development and achieve crew rating in 2017. Each company performed an uncrewed orbital test flight in 2019.
Vulcan Centaur is a heavy-lift launch vehicle created and operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA). It is a two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle consisting of the Vulcan first stage and the Centaur second stage. It replaces ULA's Atlas V and Delta IV rockets. It is principally designed for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, which launches satellites for U.S. intelligence agencies and the Defense Department, but ULA believes it will also be able to price missions low enough to attract commercial launches.
The Boeing Starliner Orbital Flight Test was the first orbital mission of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, conducted by Boeing as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission was planned to be an eight-day test flight of the spacecraft, involving a rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station (ISS), and a landing in the western United States. The mission was launched on December 20, 2019 at 11:36:43 UTC or 06:36:43 AM EST; however an issue with the spacecraft's Mission Elapsed Time (MET) clock occurred 31 minutes into flight. This anomaly caused the spacecraft to burn into an incorrect orbit, preventing a rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS). The mission was reduced to just two days, with the spacecraft successfully landing at White Sands Space Harbor on December 22, 2019.
Boeing Crew Flight Test (Boe-CFT) was the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner capsule. Launched on 5 June 2024, the mission flew a crew of two NASA astronauts, Barry E. Wilmore and Sunita Williams, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to the International Space Station. The mission was meant to last eight days, ending on 14 June with a landing in the American Southwest. However, the capsule's thrusters malfunctioned as Starliner approached the ISS. After more than two months of investigation, NASA decided it was too risky to return Wilmore and Williams to Earth aboard Starliner. Instead, the Boeing spacecraft returned uncrewed on 7 September 2024, and the astronauts will ride down on the SpaceX Crew-9 spacecraft in February 2025.
The year 2021 broke the record for the most orbital launch attempts till then (146) and most humans in space concurrently (19) despite the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.
The year 2022 witnessed the number of launches of SpaceX's Falcon rocket family surpassing the CNSA's Long March rocket family, making the United States the country with the highest number of launches in 2022 instead of China. This year also featured the first successful launch of Long March 6A, Nuri, Angara 1.2, Vega C, Kinetica-1, and Jielong-3. National space agencies' activities in this year is also marred by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leading to tension between Roscosmos and Western space agencies, threats of ending collaboration on the International Space Station (ISS), and delays on space missions.
Boeing Starliner-1, also called Post Certification Mission-1 (PCM-1), is planned to be the first operational crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Commercial Crew Program. It will be the fourth orbital flight mission of the Starliner overall.
The Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 was a repeat of Boeing's unsuccessful first Orbital Flight Test (Boe-OFT) of its Starliner spacecraft. The uncrewed mission was part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2, using Starliner Spacecraft 2, launched 19 May 2022 and lasted 6 days. Starliner successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on 21 May 2022. It stayed at the ISS for 4 days before undocking and landing in the White Sands Missile Range on 25 May 2022.
Boeing Starliner Calypso is a space capsule manufactured by Boeing and used in NASA's Commercial Crew Program. On 20 December 2019, Calypso launched on the Boeing Orbital Flight Test mission, an uncrewed test flight of Starliner to the International Space Station. The spacecraft was scheduled to dock to the ISS and then return to Earth following a week in space, although due to several software issues the spacecraft was unable to rendezvous with the station and landed after two days in space, resulting in Boeing needing to schedule a second Orbital Flight Test. It flew with two astronauts for Starliner Crewed Flight Test on its second mission in June 2024.
The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides commercially operated crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA, conducting crew rotations between the expeditions of the International Space Station program. American space manufacturer SpaceX began providing service in 2020, using the Crew Dragon spacecraft, and NASA plans to add Boeing when its Boeing Starliner spacecraft becomes operational no earlier than 2025. NASA has contracted for six operational missions from Boeing and fourteen from SpaceX, ensuring sufficient support for ISS through 2030.
SES-20 and SES-21 will operate in the 103 degrees West and 131 degrees West orbital slots, respectively.
Tellingly, perhaps, NASA has only placed firm orders with Boeing for three Starliner flights once the agency certifies the spacecraft for operational use.