Tue, Dec 11, 2007
Twelfth ULA Mission Of 2007; Another Scheduled December 20
Aero-News learned this week a United
Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket successfully launched a National
Reconnaissance Office (NRO) payload at 1705 EST Monday from Space
Launch Complex 41. This launch marks the fourth Atlas V EELV
mission this year and the 12th ULA mission in 2007.
"ULA is proud to have played a critical role for this important
NRO mission, ensuring that our nation has the technology and
spaceborne assets needed to acquire intelligence worldwide," said
Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president of Atlas programs. "Close teamwork
with the NRO Office of Space Launch, the US Air Force Launch and
Range Systems Wing and the 45th Space Wing at Cape Canaveral made
today's successful mission possible."
This mission, designated AV-015, was launched aboard an Atlas V
401 configuration and it used a single common core booster powered
by the RD-180 engine. This Atlas V flight marked the 208th RD-180
firing. Atlas V has 11 previous successful launches including two
missions for NASA, one for the NRO, two for the Air Force, and six
for commercial customers.
ULA's next launch, currently scheduled for December 20, is the
GPS IIR-18 satellite for the Air Force aboard a Delta II rocket
from Space Launch Complex 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
in Florida.
ULA program management, engineering, test and mission support
functions are headquartered in Denver, CO, and supported by
transition employees in Huntington Beach, CA. Manufacturing,
assembly and integration operations are located at Decatur, AL;
Harlingen, TX; San Diego, CA; and Denver. Launch operations are
located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Vandenberg Air
Force Base, CA.
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