United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance ( ULA ) is a 2006 founded joint venture of the two US companies Boeing Defense and Lockheed Martin Space Systems for the joint operation of US government agencies launch services the carrier rocket Delta II , Delta IV and Atlas V . However, Boeing also had the commercial orders that Boeing Launch Services received for the Delta II from the ULA.
The aim is to combine the development, production, testing and launch operations of missiles in order to reduce costs, with the ULA expecting annual savings of 100 to 150 million US dollars for the American taxpayer. Boeing and Lockheed Martin each have a 50 percent stake in ULA. Its headquarters are in Denver , and the company has a total of 3,800 employees.
The United Launch Alliance is supported by the US Department of Defense . On October 3, 2006, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved the merger. According to the information on its website, the ULA officially started operations on December 1, 2006. Its first launch was that of a Delta II rocket with the USA 193 spy satellite for the NGO on December 14, 2006. The first Atlas rocket launch on March 8, 2007 brought six spy satellites into space.
After the company was founded, Michael Gass took over the position of Chief Executive Officer until he was replaced by Tory Bruno on August 12, 2014 . With the Vulcan , the ULA is developing a launch vehicle that will gradually replace the Atlas V and Delta IV and that will be partially reusable in the distant future.
statistics
The 99 launches carried out up to October 1, 2015 can be broken down as follows:
| Launcher | Starts |
|---|---|
| Atlas V | 48 |
| Delta II | 28 |
| Delta IV | 23 |
| customer | Starts |
|---|---|
| United States Air Force | 40 |
| NASA | 25th |
| NGO | 19th |
| Commercial customers | 15th |
| Launch site | Starts |
|---|---|
| Cape Canaveral Air Force Station | 70 |
| Vandenberg Air Force Base | 29 |
Web links
swell
- ↑ finanzen.net: Lockheed Martin and Boeing found joint venture for rocket launches. May 3, 2005, accessed August 13, 2014 .
- ↑ spaceflightnow.com: FTC gives clearance to United Launch Alliance , October 3, 2006
- ↑ United Launch Alliance: United Launch Alliance Names Tory Bruno President and Chief Executive Officer. August 12, 2014, accessed August 13, 2014 .
- ↑ http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/04/16/certification-process-begins-for-vulcan-to-carry-military-payloads/ Justin Ray: Certification process begins for Vulcan to carry military payloads , in Spaceflight Now, Date: April 16, 2015, Retrieved. May 2, 2015
- ↑ http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/10/01/stats-ula-to-mark-milestone-in-powering-payloads-to-space/