ULA’s Atlas V rocket has launched for the first time in nearly a year

Enlarge / ULA's Atlas V rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. (credit: United Launch Alliance)

United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket returned to action Sunday with a mission to deploy multiple satellites into geosynchronous orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office and the US Space Force.

This mission ended a 10-month gap in launches for ULA's primary rocket, the longest period between Atlas V launches in 20 years as the company winds down the Atlas V program in favor of the new Vulcan rocket. There are still 18 more Atlas V flights on ULA's launch schedule—all are reserved by customers—primarily carrying satellites for Amazon's Kuiper broadband network and launching astronauts on Boeing's long-delayed Starliner crew capsule.

ULA, a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, has several Atlas V rockets in storage at Cape Canaveral. Customer delays are the main reason ULA hasn't launched any Atlas V rockets since last November. At one point, Boeing's Starliner crew capsule was supposed to launch with astronauts for the first time on top of an Atlas V rocket earlier this year, but that test flight is now delayed into 2024. Another US Space Force mission has also been delayed for months and now likely won't fly until early 2024.