ULA takes over Atlas 5 commercial marketing from Lockheed Martin
Capitalism in space: ULA has now taken over the marketing of Atlas 5 commercial launches from Lockheed Martin.
I was actually surprised when I saw this story today. I had assumed that with the merger of the launch divisions of Boeing and Lockheed Martin into the ULA joint venture in 2005 ULA had been handling this marketing already. This announcement reveals that this merger had apparently only shifted the government Atlas 5 launches to ULA’s control, and only now has the rocket’s entire business been handed to ULA.
I wonder what political in-fighting was required by ULA’s CEO Tory Bruno to get this to happen.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Capitalism in space: ULA has now taken over the marketing of Atlas 5 commercial launches from Lockheed Martin.
I was actually surprised when I saw this story today. I had assumed that with the merger of the launch divisions of Boeing and Lockheed Martin into the ULA joint venture in 2005 ULA had been handling this marketing already. This announcement reveals that this merger had apparently only shifted the government Atlas 5 launches to ULA’s control, and only now has the rocket’s entire business been handed to ULA.
I wonder what political in-fighting was required by ULA’s CEO Tory Bruno to get this to happen.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Since ULA was not marketing the Atlas V for commercial launches, then were or are they marketing the Delta rockets for commercial launches? ULA doesn’t, but Boeing does, through Boeing Launch Services, Inc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Defense,_Space_%26_Security#Space_launch_and_spacecraft
http://www.sky-brokers.com/home/services/satellite-launch-companies/boeing-launch-services-bls-
@Edward
Boeing is phasing out Delta IV, with the last launch this year I think. Delta IV Heavy will launch a few more times, until Falcon Heavy is proven reliable and makes that one redundant too.
Localfluff,
You may be thinking of the Delta II, which is slated to launch its last payload this summer. Delta IV is not yet scheduled to be retired, at least not until the ULA Vulcan rocket comes out. The Vulcan Heavy version should be comparable to the Falcon Heavy.
@Edwards,
Seems to be a couple of years ago, things slip in space (space is slippery) so things maybe have changed a bit. But I found a news article with the quote by Tory Bruno I remember:
“Great rocket,” Bruno said of the Delta 4. “But it’s more expensive than the equivalent Atlas rocket.”
The last of the single-stick, or intermediate-class, Delta 4 launches would take place around 2018-2019, Bruno said.
I haven’t heard of the Vulcan coming in any heavy version. If Falcon Heavy flies, that might be a tough segment to compete in. And it isn’t needed for normal payloads. SpaceX could use it to launch more satellites at once to further cut costs, and of course for the more spectacular but rare science and human (support, without human rating the FH) missions we love to speculate about.
Localfluff,
Although I am not certain what Bruno means by “single-stick, or intermediate-class, Delta 4,” I think that he means the small and medium versions, which fly without and with strap-on boosters, respectively.
However, there is the Delta Heavy, which looks much like a Falcon Heavy in that it has two additional core rockets alongside. Bruno may have been expecting the small and medium versions to stop flying.