The US Space Force’s (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC) and United Launch Alliance (ULA) are preparing for USSF-51, a classified National Security Space Launch (NSSL) mission, with launch no earlier than 6:45 a.m. EDT (3:45 a.m. PDT) July 30, 2024, from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), Florida. It will be the last NSSL launch on at Atlas rocket.
The launch will be livestreamed at www.ulalaunch.com and other media websites approximately 30 minutes ahead of liftoff.
“The Space Force Atlas V team has an amazing record of serving our National Security Space lift needs,” said USSF Col. Jim Horne, senior materiel leader for SSC’s Launch Execution Delta. “We have always worked extremely well with this team, and this mission, our last launch with the Atlas V, is looking great!”
During its lifetime since 1957, the Atlas family has launched almost every category of space vehicle including military, government, and commercial weather, communications, and science satellites, experimental satellites, robotic probes for exploration, planetary orbiters and rovers, lunar explorers, space planes, two capsules carrying cargo and one with astronauts for the International Space Station (ISS), and one telescope. The Atlas V is the last major variant in the Atlas launch vehicle family. It was first used for the NSSL program on March 9, 2007, for the STP-1 mission and has since been tapped for 52 more NSSL-procured launches as the true workhorse for national security space missions, accounting for just over half of the program’s total. This will be Atlas V’s 53rd and final launch for the USSF. The launch vehicle also launched other national security missions for other agencies.
“The Atlas V launch system has been the stalwart for national security launches over the past 20 years,” said Dr. Walt Lauderdale, USSF-51 mission director. “This mission, together with all those preceding, demonstrates the Atlas V integrated government/industry team’s commitment to safely deliver critical assets to space. This NSSL partnership is a prime example demonstrating our resiliency and capacity to support national security objectives in a time of evolving Great Power competition. Whether it’s a new launch system or one that is tried and tested for decades, we follow the same disciplined processes to produce a great result—pinpoint orbital insertion. These launch capabilities support our government, our men and women in harm’s way and our allies too, in ways that can only be conducted from and through space.”
Although it’s being retired from the NSSL program, an additional 15 commercial and non-defense missions, including crewed launches, are planned for the Atlas V. Additionally, NSSL anticipates employing the Vulcan system upon completion of the certification process.
The history of the Atlas family dates to 1957 with 682 total reported Atlas launches. The SM-65 Atlas was the first operational Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) developed by the U.S. and the first member of the Atlas family of large liquid-fueled rockets. It was built for the U.S. Air Force by the Convair Division of General Dynamics at an assembly plant located in Kearney Mesa, San Diego, CA. Development dates back to 1946 but over the next few years the project underwent several cancellations and re-starts. The missiles saw only brief ICBM service, and the last squadron was taken off operational alert in 1965.
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