Watch the Launch

Additional Media

May 17 Live Broadcast: Atlas V SBIRS GEO Flight 5

Watch live as ULA's Atlas V rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida from Space Launch Complex-41 with the SBIRS GEO Flight-5 missi...

SBIRS GEO-5

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Geostationary Transfer Orbit
Mission: Government/Top Secret

Geostationary Transfer Orbit Space Launch Complex 41 Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Fifth geosynchronous satellite of the Space Based Infrared System program (SBIRS), providing capabilities for early missile warning and missile defense. SBIRS GEO-5 is the first satellite using Lockheed Martin's LM2100 combat bus.

Infographic

Geoff Barrett is an independent graphic artist that creates launch infographics for space flight events.

Updates

Nosu • May 18, 2021, 6:54 p.m.

Successful launch


Cosmic_Penguin • May 17, 2021, 4:39 p.m.

Scrubbed for the day.


Cosmic_Penguin • May 17, 2021, 3:50 p.m.

HOLDING


Atlas V 421

Family: Atlas
Configuration: 421

Atlas V is an expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. It was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin and is now operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture with Boeing. Each Atlas V rocket uses a Russian-built RD-180 engine burning kerosene and liquid oxygen to power its first stage and an American-built RL10 engine burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to power its Centaur upper stage. The RD-180 engines are provided by RD Amross, while Aerojet Rocketdyne provides both the RL10 engines and the strap-on boosters used in some configurations. The 421 version uses a 4m wide fairing, 2 solid rocket boosters and one engine on the Centaur stage.

See Atlas Details
Specifications
  • Max Stage
    2
  • Length
    58.3 m
  • Diameter
    3.8 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    433 T
  • Thrust
Family
  • Name
    Atlas V 421
  • Family
    Atlas
  • Variant
    421
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Atlas V 421
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $123000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    14067 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    6890 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

United Launch Alliance

Circle Image
CEO: Tory Bruno Founded: 2006 Successes: 156 Failures: 0 Pending: 31

Agency Type: Commercial

United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. ULA was formed in December 2006 by combining the teams at these companies which provide spacecraft launch services to the government of the United States. ULA launches from both coasts of the US. They launch their Atlas V vehicle from LC-41 in Cape Canaveral and LC-3E at Vandeberg. Their Delta IV launches from LC-37 at Cape Canaveral and LC-6 at Vandenberg.

INFO WIKI

Related News

Spaceflight Now

Watch new ‘rocketcam’ footage from last week’s Atlas 5 launch

United Launch Alliance has released new video from cameras mounted aboard an Atlas 5 rocket that lifted off May 18 from Cape Canaveral to haul a U.S. military missile-detection satellite into orbit.

Spaceflight Now

Photos: ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral

Carrying a sophisticated billion-dollar missile detection satellite for the U.S. military, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday with 1.6 million pounds of thrust from a Russian RD-180 main engin…

Spaceflight Now

Problem during fueling preps forces Atlas 5 launch delay

United Launch Alliance called off a launch attempt Monday after hitting a snag during preparations to fill an Atlas 5 rocket with cryogenic propellants at Cape Canaveral, delaying the liftoff of a new U.S. Space Force infrared surveillance…

Spaceflight Now

Atlas 5 rocket launches infrared missile detection satellite for U.S. Space Force

An upgraded, cyber-hardened $1 billion satellite to support the U.S. military’s missile defense systems rode into orbit from Cape Canaveral Tuesday at the tip of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

SpaceNews

ULA launches U.S. Space Force missile-warning satellite, two rideshare cubesats

An Atlas 5 rocket carrying a U.S. Space Force missile-warning satellite and two small payloads lifted off May 18 at 1:37 p.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Space Launch Complex 41


Long March 4C
Success
2 days, 3 hours ago
Yaogan 34-04
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan, People's Republic of China

Officially described as an optical remote-sensing satellite built by SAST.


Long March 2D
Success
2 days, 23 hours ago
PIESAT-1 x 4
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan, People's Republic of China

4 X-band synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites for PIESAT (1 main, 3 sub-satellites), operating in tandem using very long baseline in…


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 13 hours ago
Starlink Group 5-10
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 56 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Soyuz 2-1v
Success
3 days, 13 hours ago
Kosmos 2568 (EO MKA-4)
43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identity uncertain. Russian reconnaissance satellite of unknown purposes, possibly in the same series as Kosmos 2551, 2555 and 2560.


Shavit-2
Success
4 days, 10 hours ago
Ofek-13
Unknown Pad - Palmachim Airbase, State of Israel

Ofek is a series of Israeli reconnaissance satellites. Ofek-13 is an Israeli SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) reconnaissance satellite that combines hi…


LVM-3 (GSLV Mk III)
Success
1 week ago
OneWeb 18
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Sriharikota, Republic of India

A batch of 36 satellites for the OneWeb satellite constellation, which is intended to provide global Internet broadband service for individual consum…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Starlink Group 5-5
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 56 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Electron
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
The Beat Goes On
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Onenui Station, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Payload consists of 2 second generation Earth-imaging satellites for BlackSky. They are part of a constellation of 60 Low Earth Orbit Earth imagin…


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Kosmos 2567 (Bars-M No. 4)
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identity uncertain. Bars-M is the second incarnation of the Bars project, which was started in the mid 1990ies to develop a success…


Terran 1
Failure
1 week, 3 days ago
Good Luck, Have Fun (Maiden Flight)
Launch Complex 16 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Maiden launch of the Terran 1 rocket developed by Relativity Space.