The final flight of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket concluded an important chapter in space exploration on Thursday. The Atlas V successfully launched 29 satellites for Amazon's Leo broadband constellation from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 12:30 am EDT. This mission marked a significant milestone as it was the 110th flight of the Atlas V since its introduction in 2002.
Future of Atlas V Rockets
Currently, ULA has six Atlas V rockets remaining, designated for launching Boeing’s Starliner crew capsules to the International Space Station (ISS). However, due to previous delays, NASA has reduced Boeing’s guaranteed missions from six to four, raising questions about the future utilization of these rockets. The upcoming Starliner flight will utilize one of the remaining Atlas V rockets for cargo delivery to the ISS, further diminishing the available inventory.
There are discussions about potentially repurposing the Atlas Vs for other missions, including additional launches for Amazon’s Leo network. However, this poses challenges as the Starliner spacecraft launches in an exposed configuration, making it incompatible with other payloads. A ULA spokesperson confirmed that the new payload fairing for the Vulcan rocket is “not interchangeable” with the Atlas V's design.
Limitations of Remaining Atlas V Launches
The remaining Atlas V rockets will fly with a dual-engine upper stage, optimized for low-Earth orbit missions, limiting their suitability for high-energy or deep space missions. Thursday’s launch was also the last to utilize the Atlas V’s most powerful configuration, which included five strap-on solid rocket boosters. ULA has sufficient Atlas V boosters in storage to configure two strap-on motors for each of the six remaining Starliner flights, but this limits their overall lift capability.
