Watch the Launch

Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Dec. 7 Live Broadcast: Atlas V STP-3

Watch live on Tues. Dec. 7, 2021 as ULA's Atlas V rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with the Space Test Program (STP)-3 mission for the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command ...

Launch of NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration — LCRD Official Launch Coverage

Watch the liftoff of our Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The two-hour launch window opens Dec. 7, 2021 at 4:04 a.m. EST. Laser comm...

STP-3

Overview

Destination: Geostationary Orbit
Mission: Dedicated Rideshare

Geostationary Orbit Space Launch Complex 41 Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA Probability: 95%

Rideshare mission with the STPSat-6 satellite and six secondary payloads for the US Air Force. STPSat-6 carries the NNSA's Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System-3 (SABRS-3) payload and NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) experiment.

Telemetry

Launch trajectory and telemetry simulations provided by Flight Club - a rocket launch simulator and orbital trajectory visualiser for all things space!

Updates

SwGustav • Dec. 7, 2021, 6:02 p.m.

Mission success confirmed


SwGustav • Dec. 5, 2021, 12:11 a.m.

24 hour delay



spacevogel • Nov. 22, 2021, 7:14 p.m.

Delayed due to bad weather during launch vehicle processing.


Cosmic_Penguin • Nov. 11, 2021, 9:51 a.m.

New launch window.


Atlas V 551

Family:
Configuration: 551

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 standard payload fairing sizes are 4 or 5 meters in diameter and of various lengths. Fairings sizes as large as 7.2 m in diameter and up to 32.3 m in length have been considered. The rocket is assembled in Decatur, Alabama and Harlingen, Texas.

Specifications
  • Minimum Stage
    1
  • Max Stage
    2
  • Length
    59.7 m
  • Diameter
    3.8 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Launch Mass
    573.0 T
  • Thrust
    12269.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Atlas V 551
  • Family
  • Variant
    551
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Atlas V 551
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $153000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    18850.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    8890.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
    3850.0 kg
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

United Launch Alliance

United Launch Alliance

(ULA)

CEO: Mark Peller Founded: 2006 Successes: 175 Failures: 0 Pending: 36

Agency Type:

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
Spaceflight Now

Atlas 5 rocket launches Space Force tech demo satellites on marathon mission

United Launch Alliance deployed two U.S. Space Force technology demonstration satellites into an on-target orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator Tuesday after a booming blastoff before dawn from Cape Canaveral on an Atlas 5 rocket.

NASA

NASA’s Laser Communications Tech, Science Experiment Safely in Space

NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) and a NASA-U.S. Naval Research Laboratory space weather payload to study the Sun’s radiation lifted off at 5:19 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Dec. 7.

SpaceNews

ULA launches STP-3 mission with national security and NASA payloads

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket on Dec. 7 launched the Space Test Program-3 (STP-3) mission for the U.S. Space Force. The rocket lifted off at 5:19 a.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fl…

Spaceflight Now

NASA laser communications experiment set for launch into geosynchronous orbit

A $320 million NASA experiment to demonstrate high-speed laser communications links between a satellite and stations on the ground is poised for launch Tuesday, tagging along for a ride to geosynchronous orbit on a U.S. Space Force mission…

Spaceflight Now

Fuel leak at launch pad delays Atlas 5 mission

United Launch Alliance delayed the planned launch of an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Sunday after discovering a kerosene fuel leak in the launch pad’s ground storage system. Officials tentatively rescheduled launch with two U.S. mili…

Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Space Launch Complex 41


Gravity-1
Success
14 hours, 16 minutes ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #16
Yellow Sea (launch location 5) - Haiyang Oriental Spaceport

9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with …


Zhuque-2E Block 2
Success
1 day, 5 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #15
Launch Area 96A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

10 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…


Vega-C
Success
1 day, 10 hours ago
Sentinel-3C & FLEX
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) - Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Sentinel-3C is the third satellite in the Sentinel-3 constellation, which provides high-accuracy optical, radar and altimetry data for marine and lan…


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 17 hours ago
O3b mPower 11-13
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

3 high-throughput communications satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) built by Boeing and operated by SES.


Electron
Success
5 days, 8 hours ago
Happily Ever Faster (BlackSky Gen-3 5)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Note: Payload and customer identities were not publicly announced. 5th of the BlackSky Gen-3 high resolution Earth-imaging satellites.


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 20 hours ago
USSF-153
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

USSF-153 is a classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield …


Long March 4B
Success
6 days, 3 hours ago
Yaogan 53-01 to 03/56-01 to 03
Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

6 Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Starlink Group 15-24
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Spectrum
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Onward and Upward
Orbital Launch Pad - Andøya Spaceport

Second test flight of the Isar Spectrum launch vehicle. This launch will carry 5 cubesats and 1 non-separable experiment as part of European Space Ag…


GSLV Mk II
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
GISAT-1A (EOS-05)
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

GISAT-1A (GEO Imaging Satellite) is an Indian earth observing satellite operating from geostationary orbit to facilitate continuous observation of In…