Atlas (rocket family)

<h2 id="launch-vehicles-based-on-original-atlas-icbm">Launch vehicles based on original Atlas ICBM</h2>
The Atlas was used as an <a href="/facts/Expendable_launch_system/CaW43W5z">expendable launch system</a>, with both the Agena and Centaur upper stages, for the <a href="/facts/Mariner_program/r8WmLtgy">Mariner</a> space probes used to explore <a href="/facts/Mercury_(planet)/lVa1GIyX">Mercury</a>, <a href="/facts/Venus/pADnueP6">Venus</a>, and <a href="/facts/Mars/AQGtVvz0">Mars</a> (1962–1973); and to launch ten of the <a href="/facts/Mercury_program/H8zqFzbC">Mercury program</a> missions (1962–1963).

<h3>SM-65 Atlas missile</h3>
Main article: <a href="/facts/SM-65_Atlas/H4ULUgKf">SM-65 Atlas</a>
The first successful test launch of an SM-65 Atlas missile was on 17 December 1957.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a> Approximately 350 Atlas missiles were built.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a>
The Atlas boosters would collapse under their own weight if not kept pressurized with nitrogen gas in the tanks when devoid of propellants. The Atlas booster was unusual in its use of "balloon" tanks. The rockets were made from very thin stainless steel that offered minimal or no rigid support. It was pressure in the tanks that gave the rigidity required for space flight. In order to save weight they were not painted and needed a specially designed oil to prevent rust. This was the original use of <a href="/facts/WD-40/JHovoxlR">WD-40</a> water displacement oil.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a>
The SM-65 Atlas was used as a first stage for satellite launch vehicles for half a century. Many were eventually converted to orbital launch vehicles after they were removed from service as missiles. Missiles converted into <a href="/facts/Atlas_E/F/KnI32kNm">Atlas E/F</a> "space boosters" were used to launch the early "Block I" <a href="/facts/GPS_(satellite)/d4R6InYK">GPS satellites</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a>

<h3>SM-65B Atlas SCORE launch</h3>

Early Atlas rockets were also built specifically for non-military uses. On 18 December 1958, an Atlas was used to launch the Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment (<a href="/facts/SCORE_(satellite)/6XHozqGd">SCORE</a>) satellite, which was "the first prototype of a <a href="/facts/Communications_satellite/y5RXPMDT">communications satellite</a>, and the first test of any satellite for direct practical applications."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a> The communications payload was placed into <a href="/facts/Low_Earth_orbit/rq1TwayJ">low Earth orbit</a> on Atlas serial number 10B without an upper stage. Atlas 10B/SCORE, at 8,750 lb (3,970 kg) was the heaviest artificial object then in orbit, the first voice relay satellite, and the first human-made object in space easily visible to the naked eye due to the large, mirror-polished stainless steel tank. This was the first flight in what would be a long career for the Atlas as a satellite launcher.

<h3>Atlas-D based launchers</h3>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Atlas_SLV-3/313bVJxB">Atlas SLV-3</a>
Atlas D missile-derived SLV-3s were used for <a href="/facts/Orbit/nD2TPySG">orbital</a> launches with the <a href="/facts/RM-81_Agena/mRvYKtC1">RM-81 Agena</a> and <a href="/facts/Centaur_(rocket_stage)/ryg96uIF">Centaur</a> upper stages. The modified <a href="/facts/Atlas_LV-3B/ufGAcnsB">Atlas LV-3B</a> was used for the orbital element of <a href="/facts/Project_Mercury/H8zqFzbC">Project Mercury</a>, launching four <a href="/facts/Human_spaceflight/VgVxsGmq">crewed</a> <a href="/facts/Mercury_spacecraft/H8zqFzbC">Mercury spacecraft</a> into <a href="/facts/Low_Earth_orbit/rq1TwayJ">low Earth orbit</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a> Atlas D launches were conducted from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, at Launch Complexes 11, 12, 13 and 14, and <a href="/facts/Vandenberg_AFB_Launch_Complex_576/xGgIm5bW">Vandenberg AFB Launch Complex 576</a>.
Two <a href="/facts/Suborbital/NdLRlGIq">suborbital</a> <a href="/facts/Stage_and_a_half/4qPbu35V">stage and a half</a> vehicles were used during <a href="/facts/Project_FIRE/2ylyb7QH">Project FIRE</a> as <a href="/facts/Sounding_rocket/em1GgGND">sounding rockets</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a>
By 1979, Atlas space launcher variants had been whittled down to just the Atlas-Centaur and some refurbished ICBMs. The launch rate of Atlases decreased in the 1980s due to the advent of the <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle/7BoyetEv">Space Shuttle</a>, but Atlas launches continued until 2004, when the last "classic" Atlas with balloon tanks and the jettisonable booster section launched a comsat for the Air Force.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a>

<h4>Mercury program</h4>

Main article: <a href="/facts/Atlas_LV-3B/ufGAcnsB">Atlas LV-3B</a>
Atlas boosters were also used for the last four crewed <a href="/facts/Project_Mercury/H8zqFzbC">Project Mercury</a> missions, the first United States crewed space program. On February 20, 1962, it launched <a href="/facts/Mercury-Atlas_6/L825mhAJ">Friendship 7</a>, which made three Earth orbits carrying <a href="/facts/John_Glenn/uJLQekqe">John Glenn</a>, the first United States <a href="/facts/Astronaut/HB1bd6Lz">astronaut</a> to orbit the Earth. Identical Atlas boosters successfully launched three more crewed Mercury orbital missions from 1962 to 1963.
Atlas saw the beginnings of its "workhorse" status during the <a href="/facts/Mercury-Atlas/57HakDRm">Mercury-Atlas</a> missions, which resulted in Lt. Col. <a href="/facts/John_Glenn/uJLQekqe">John H. Glenn Jr.</a> becoming the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. Atlas was also used throughout the mid-1960s to launch the <a href="/facts/Agena_Target_Vehicle/bjgdjgr3">Agena Target Vehicles</a> used during the <a href="/facts/Gemini_program/7PYE3AV4">Gemini program</a>.

<h4>Atlas-Agena</h4>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Atlas-Agena/pneWJf6H">Atlas-Agena</a>
Beginning in 1960, the <a href="/facts/RM-81_Agena/mRvYKtC1">Agena</a> <a href="/facts/Multistage_rocket/WNrmgztj">upper stage</a>, powered by <a href="/facts/Hypergolic_propellant/p0Goa3rn">hypergolic propellant</a>, was used extensively on Atlas launch vehicles. The <a href="/facts/United_States_Air_Force/7MxWBYlc">United States Air Force</a>, <a href="/facts/National_Reconnaissance_Office/Rnh04L8L">NRO</a> and <a href="/facts/CIA/U7urmQYL">CIA</a> used them to launch <a href="/facts/Signals_intelligence/Iwzvw6AW">SIGINT</a> satellites.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a> NASA used them in the <a href="/facts/Ranger_program/u9Ju9AdQ">Ranger program</a> to obtain the first close-up images of the surface of the Moon and for <a href="/facts/Mariner_2/hnFTMu67">Mariner 2</a>, the first spacecraft to fly by another planet. Each of the <a href="/facts/Agena_target_vehicle/bjgdjgr3">Agena target vehicles</a> used for the later <a href="/facts/Space_rendezvous/8KlcQyyf">space rendezvous</a> practice missions of <a href="/facts/Project_Gemini/7PYE3AV4">Gemini</a> was launched on an Atlas rocket.

<h4>Atlas-Centaur</h4>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Atlas-Centaur/whhCjn12">Atlas-Centaur</a>
The Atlas-Centaur was an <a href="/facts/Expendable_launch_system/CaW43W5z">expendable launch system</a> derived from the <a href="/facts/SM-65D_Atlas/VFYnaMBx">SM-65D Atlas</a> missile. Launches were conducted from two pads of the <a href="/facts/Cape_Canaveral_Air_Force_Station_Launch_Complex_36/IXGlSACg">Launch Complex 36</a> at <a href="/facts/Cape_Canaveral_Air_Force_Station/dwJ9MCPH">Cape Canaveral Air Force Station</a>, Florida. The Atlas' engines were upgraded and the structure reinforced for the large upper stage, along with elongated propellant tanks.
The first launch attempt of an Atlas-Centaur in May 1962 failed, the rocket exploding after take-off.
Footage of this was shown in the penultimate shot of the 1982 art film <a href="/facts/Koyaanisqatsi/p2WSQ4Xq">Koyaanisqatsi</a>, directed by <a href="/facts/Godfrey_Reggio/C6bXgkMK">Godfrey Reggio</a>.
Beginning in 1963, the <a href="/facts/Liquid_hydrogen/Vpk3Gb8P">liquid hydrogen</a>-fueled <a href="/facts/Centaur_(rocket_stage)/ryg96uIF">Centaur</a> upper stage was also used on dozens of Atlas launches. <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a> launched the <a href="/facts/Surveyor_program/98RNqFN3">Surveyor program</a> lunar lander spacecraft and most of the Mars-bound <a href="/facts/Mariner_program/r8WmLtgy">Mariner program</a> spacecraft with Atlas-Centaur launch vehicles.

<h3>Atlas E/F</h3>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Atlas_E/F/KnI32kNm">Atlas E/F</a>
Following retirement as an ICBM, the Atlas-E, along with the <a href="/facts/SM-65F_Atlas/Lm1uMUJY">Atlas-F</a>, were refurbished for <a href="/facts/Orbit/nD2TPySG">orbital</a> launches.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a>
The last Atlas E/F spacecraft launch was conducted on 24 March 1995, using a rocket which had originally been built as an Atlas-E. The last Atlas E/F launch to use a rocket which had originally been built as an Atlas-F was conducted on 23 June 1981.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a>
Atlas E/F was used to launch the Block I series of <a href="/facts/GPS_satellite/d4R6InYK">GPS satellites</a> from 1978 to 1985. The last refurbished Atlas-F vehicle was launched from Vandenberg AFB in 1995 carrying a satellite for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a>

<h3>Tabulated</h3>

<h2 id="rd-180-era">RD-180 era</h2>
<h3>Atlas III</h3>
The first stage of the <a href="/facts/Atlas_III/MCNDV2Ba">Atlas III</a> discontinued the use of three engines and 1.5 staging in favor of a single Russian-built <a href="/facts/NPO_Energomash/v936K2w7">Energomash</a> <a href="/facts/RD-180/y26BExGy">RD-180</a> engine, while retaining the stage's balloon tank construction. The Atlas III continued to use the Centaur upper stage, available with single or dual <a href="/facts/RL10/xNrFPF99">RL10</a> engines.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17">17</a>

<h3>Atlas V</h3>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Atlas_V/5SNgegyt">Atlas V</a>

The Atlas V, currently in service, was developed by <a href="/facts/Lockheed_Martin/URp9BQpA">Lockheed Martin</a> as part of the US Air Force <a href="/facts/Evolved_Expendable_Launch_Vehicle/uIrh9NXV">Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle</a> (EELV) program. The first was launched on August 21, 2002. In 2006, operation was transferred to <a href="/facts/United_Launch_Alliance/yWev1ndb">United Launch Alliance</a> (ULA), a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and <a href="/facts/Boeing/tF5sMe9F">Boeing</a>. Lockheed Martin continued to market the Atlas V to commercial customers until September 2021, when it announced that the rocket will be retired after fulfilling the remaining 29 launch contracts.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18">18</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19">19</a> Atlas V is built in <a href="/facts/Decatur,_Alabama/z2WlGES0">Decatur, Alabama</a>, and maintains two launch sites: <a href="/facts/Cape_Canaveral_Air_Force_Station_Space_Launch_Complex_41/QBUVHdSb">Space Launch Complex 41</a> at <a href="/facts/Cape_Canaveral_Space_Force_Station/dwJ9MCPH">Cape Canaveral Space Force Station</a> and <a href="/facts/Vandenberg_AFB_Space_Launch_Complex_3/ocbesEHR">Space Launch Complex 3-E</a> at <a href="/facts/Vandenberg_Space_Force_Base/CHNed3F4">Vandenberg Space Force Base</a>.
The Atlas V's first stage is called the <a href="/facts/Common_Core_Booster/mgATcubz">Common Core Booster</a> (CCB), which continues to use the Energomash <a href="/facts/RD-180/y26BExGy">RD-180</a> introduced in the Atlas III, but employs a rigid framework instead of balloon tanks. The rigid fuselage is heavier, but easier to handle and transport, eliminating the need for constant internal pressure. Up to five <a href="/facts/Aerojet_Rocketdyne/NsvAC75a">Aerojet Rocketdyne</a> strap-on <a href="/facts/Solid_rocket_booster/Fw48fMUf">solid rocket boosters</a> can be used to augment first stage thrust. The upper stage remains the <a href="/facts/Centaur_(rocket_stage)/ryg96uIF">Centaur</a>, powered by a single or dual Aerojet Rocketdyne <a href="/facts/RL10/xNrFPF99">RL10</a> engines.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20">20</a>

<h3>RD-180 phaseout</h3>
In 2014, <a href="/facts/US_Congress/mJlU46K7">US Congress</a> passed legislation restricting the purchase and use of the <a href="/facts/Russia/jfkCwyxn">Russian-supplied</a> <a href="/facts/RD-180/y26BExGy">RD-180</a> engine used on the first stage booster of the Atlas V.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21">21</a> Formal study contracts were issued in June 2014 to a number of US rocket engine suppliers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22">22</a>
In September 2014, ULA announced that it had entered into a partnership with <a href="/facts/Blue_Origin/CxFvEmDr">Blue Origin</a> to develop the <a href="/facts/BE-4/jWdHDk49">BE-4</a> <a href="/facts/LOX/qnI0KDTb">LOX</a>/<a href="/facts/Liquid_methane/kBHneYnh">methane</a> engine to replace the RD-180 on the new <a href="/facts/Vulcan_(rocket)/ItQaJHkk">Vulcan rocket</a>. The new stage and engine first flew in 2024.
In December 2014, legislation to prevent the award of further military launch contracts to vehicles that use Russian-made engines was approved by the <a href="/facts/United_States_Congress/mJlU46K7">US Congress</a>. The bill allows ULA to continue to use the 29 RD-180 engines already on order at the time.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23">23</a> In September 2021, ULA announced that Atlas V will be retired after they fulfill their remaining launch contracts, and that all remaining RD-180s for the remaining rockets have been delivered.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24">24</a>

<h3>Formerly proposed launch vehicles</h3>
Prior to the April 2015 announcement of the <a href="/facts/Vulcan_launch_vehicle/ItQaJHkk">Vulcan launch vehicle</a>, during the first decade since ULA was formed from Lockheed Martin and Boeing, there were a number of proposals and concept studies of future launch vehicles. None were subsequently funded for full-up development. Two of those concepts were the Atlas V Heavy and the Atlas Phase 2.

<h4>Atlas V Heavy</h4>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Atlas_V/5SNgegyt">Atlas V § Atlas V Heavy</a>
The Atlas V Heavy was a ULA concept proposal that would have used three <a href="/facts/Common_Core_Booster/mgATcubz">Common Core Booster</a> (CCB) stages strapped together to provide the capability necessary to lift a 55,000-pound (25 t) payload to <a href="/facts/Low_Earth_orbit/rq1TwayJ">low Earth orbit</a>. ULA stated that approximately 95% of the hardware required for the Atlas HLV had already been flown on the Atlas V single-core vehicles.
A 2006 report, prepared by RAND Corporation for the <a href="/facts/Office_of_the_Secretary_of_Defense/W4tDcewJ">Office of the Secretary of Defense</a>, stated that Lockheed Martin had decided not to develop an Atlas V heavy-lift vehicle (HLV).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25">25</a> The report recommended for the Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office to "determine the necessity of an EELV heavy-lift variant, including development of an Atlas V Heavy", and to "resolve the RD-180 issue, including coproduction, <a href="/facts/Stockpiling/zDMQGI5E">stockpile</a>, or U.S. development of an RD-180 replacement."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26">26</a>[needs update]
The lifting capability of the Atlas V HLV was to be roughly equivalent to the <a href="/facts/Delta_IV_Heavy/hLQT6QQG">Delta IV Heavy</a>. The latter utilizes <a href="/facts/RS-68/Y56hGjG8">RS-68</a> engines developed and produced domestically by Pratt & Whitney <a href="/facts/Rocketdyne/3sGkwgd8">Rocketdyne</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27">27</a>

<h4>Atlas V Phase 2</h4>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Atlas_V/5SNgegyt">Atlas V § Atlas V Phase 2</a>
After December 2006, with the merger of Boeing and Lockheed-Martin space operations into <a href="/facts/United_Launch_Alliance/yWev1ndb">United Launch Alliance</a>, the Atlas V program gained access to the tooling and processes for 18 ft (5.4 m) diameter stages used on <a href="/facts/Delta_IV/QWun0yHh">Delta IV</a>. An 18 ft diameter stage could have conceivably accepted dual RD-180 engines. The resulting conceptual heavy-lift vehicle was called "Atlas Phase 2" or "PH2" in the 2009 <a href="/facts/Review_of_United_States_Human_Space_Flight_Plans_Committee/YyjpuvKh">Augustine Report</a>. An Atlas V PH2-Heavy (three 5 m stages in parallel; six RD-180s) along with <a href="/facts/Shuttle-Derived_Launch_Vehicle/4u7P298e">Shuttle-derived</a>, <a href="/facts/Ares_V/k6fxyVKV">Ares V</a> and Ares V Lite, were considered as a possible heavy lifter concept for use in future space missions in the Augustine Report.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28">28</a> The Atlas PH2 HLV concept vehicle would have notionally been able to launch a payload mass of approximately 150,000 pounds (70 t) into an orbit of 28.5 degree <a href="/facts/Orbital_inclination/TQCFWyfd">inclination</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:29" href="#fn:29">29</a>
The concept did not proceed onto full development, and was never built.

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Comparison_of_orbital_launcher_families/w5HG4Juq">Comparison of orbital launcher families</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Delta_(rocket_family)/gQH4EUYB">Delta (rocket family)</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/List_of_Atlas_launches/goKe11xc">List of Atlas launches</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2>
<ul><li>Gainor, Christopher, "The Atlas and the Air Force: Reassessing the Beginnings of America's First Intercontinental Ballistic Missile," Technology and Culture 54 (April 2013), 346–70.</li></ul>
<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080229161820/http://www.astronautix.com/lvfam/atlas.htm">Atlas at Encyclopedia Astronautica</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">Deny Rocket Lag. Atlas Firing Keynotes U.S. Missile Build-Up, 1959/01/29 (1959). Universal Newsreel. 1959. Retrieved February 22, 2012. <a href="https://archive.org/details/1959-01-29_Deny_Rocket_Lag" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/1959-01-29_Deny_Rocket_Lag</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">Helen T. Wells; Susan H. Whiteley & Carrie E. Karegeannes. Origin of NASA Names. NASA Science and Technical Information Office. pp. 8–9. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">Rusty Barton. "Atlas ICBM Chronology". Archived from the original on 2006-02-04. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060204073649/http://www.geocities.com/atlas_missile/Chronology.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20060204073649/http://www.geocities.com/atlas_missile/Chronology.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">"This week in history - Feb. 26, 1954: Air Force awards contract for Atlas ICBM propulsion system". U.S. Air Force. February 28, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2023. <a href="https://www.kirtland.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/389185/this-week-in-history-feb-26-1954-air-force-awards-contract-for-atlas-icbm-propu/" target="_blank">https://www.kirtland.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/389185/this-week-in-history-feb-26-1954-air-force-awards-contract-for-atlas-icbm-propu/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">"WD-40 History | Learn the Stories Behind the WD-40 Brand | WD-40". www.wd40.com. Retrieved 2022-06-15. <a href="https://www.wd40.com/history/" target="_blank">https://www.wd40.com/history/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">"Atlas E". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on March 5, 2002. Retrieved 28 October 2014. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20020305192516/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/atlase.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20020305192516/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/atlase.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">"Project SCORE". Patterson Army Health Clinic. Archived from the original on 2007-06-24. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070624221727/http://www.narmc.amedd.army.mil/patterson/score.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20070624221727/http://www.narmc.amedd.army.mil/patterson/score.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">"SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment)". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 28 October 2014. <a href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/score.htm" target="_blank">http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/score.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Video: Atlas In Orbit. Radios Ike's Message Of Peace To World, 1958/12/22 (1958). Universal Newsreels. 1958. Retrieved 20 February 2012. <a href="https://archive.org/details/1958-12-22_Atlas_In_Orbit" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/1958-12-22_Atlas_In_Orbit</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">"Encyclopedia Astronautica – Atlas A". Astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130522064526/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/atlasa.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130522064526/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/atlasa.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">"Encyclopedia Astronautica – Atlas A". Astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130522064526/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/atlasa.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130522064526/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/atlasa.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">Tariq Malik (August 31, 2004). "Final Atlas 2 Rocket Orbits Classified U.S. Satellite". space.com. Retrieved March 29, 2023. <a href="https://www.space.com/296-final-atlas-2-rocket-orbits-classified-satellite.html" target="_blank">https://www.space.com/296-final-atlas-2-rocket-orbits-classified-satellite.html</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">Mark Wade. "Atlas/Agena D SLV-3A". Astronautix.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2002. Retrieved 28 October 2014. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20020827232121/http://astronautix.com/lvs/atlslv3a.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20020827232121/http://astronautix.com/lvs/atlslv3a.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">"Encyclopedia Astronautica – Atlas A". Astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130522064526/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/atlasa.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130522064526/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/atlasa.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">"Atlas F". spacelaunchnow.me. Retrieved March 29, 2023. <a href="https://spacelaunchnow.me/vehicle/launch_vehicle/244/" target="_blank">https://spacelaunchnow.me/vehicle/launch_vehicle/244/</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">Krebs, Gunter D. "DMSP-5D2 F6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved April 1, 2023. <a href="https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/dmsp-5d2.htm" target="_blank">https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/dmsp-5d2.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:17">"Space Launch Report: Atlas III Data Sheet". 1 Dec 2005. Archived from the original on 6 Apr 2022. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220406013818/http://www.spacelaunchreport.com/atlas3.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20220406013818/http://www.spacelaunchreport.com/atlas3.html</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:18">"Lockheed Martin Ready For Launch Of Intelsat 14 Spacecraft". Lockheed Martin. November 11, 2009. Archived from the original on 17 December 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2014. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111217062420/http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2009/1111_ss_cls.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20111217062420/http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2009/1111_ss_cls.html</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:19">Roulette, Joey (26 August 2021). "ULA stops selling its centerpiece Atlas V, setting path for the rocket's retirement". The Verge. Retrieved 1 September 2021. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/26/22641048/ula-boeing-lockheed-end-sales-atlas-v-rocket-russia-rd180" target="_blank">https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/26/22641048/ula-boeing-lockheed-end-sales-atlas-v-rocket-russia-rd180</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:20">"Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle". Afspc.af.mil. March 2009. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140427031225/http://www.afspc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=3643" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20140427031225/http://www.afspc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=3643</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:21">"ULA Could Buy as Many as 30 More Russian-made RD-180 Engines". SpaceNews. 2015-01-20. Retrieved 2015-04-13. <a href="http://spacenews.com/ula-could-buy-as-many-as-30-more-russian-made-rd-180-engines/" target="_blank">http://spacenews.com/ula-could-buy-as-many-as-30-more-russian-made-rd-180-engines/</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:22">Ferster, Warren (2014-09-17). "ULA To Invest in Blue Origin Engine as RD-180 Replacement". Space News. Archived from the original on September 18, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-19. <a href="https://archive.today/20140918114236/http://www.spacenews.com/article/launch-report/41901ula-to-invest-in-blue-origin-engine-as-rd-180-replacement" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20140918114236/http://www.spacenews.com/article/launch-report/41901ula-to-invest-in-blue-origin-engine-as-rd-180-replacement</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:23">Petersen, Melody (2014-12-12). "Congress OKs bill banning purchases of Russian-made rocket engines". LA Times. Retrieved 2014-12-14. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-russian-rocket-ban-20141213-story.html" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-russian-rocket-ban-20141213-story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:24">Roulette, Joey (26 August 2021). "ULA stops selling its centerpiece Atlas V, setting path for the rocket's retirement". The Verge. Retrieved 1 September 2021. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/26/22641048/ula-boeing-lockheed-end-sales-atlas-v-rocket-russia-rd180" target="_blank">https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/26/22641048/ula-boeing-lockheed-end-sales-atlas-v-rocket-russia-rd180</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
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<li id="fn:27">Atlas V EELV – Lockheed-Martin Retrieved on 2008-02-08. Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved on 2011-11-19. <a href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/atlas-v.htm" target="_blank">http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/atlas-v.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:27" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:28">"HSF Final Report: Seeking a Human Spaceflight Program Worthy of a Great Nation" (PDF). October 2009. p. 64. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-02-16. Retrieved 2011-02-07. Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190216063908/https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/396093main_HSF_Cmte_FinalReport.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190216063908/https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/396093main_HSF_Cmte_FinalReport.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:28" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:29">"HSF Final Report: Seeking a Human Spaceflight Program Worthy of a Great Nation" (PDF). October 2009. p. 64. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-02-16. Retrieved 2011-02-07. Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190216063908/https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/396093main_HSF_Cmte_FinalReport.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190216063908/https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/396093main_HSF_Cmte_FinalReport.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:29" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Atlas (rocket family) open-in-new

Atlas (rocket family)