#BBC 📆 19th May 2023 There were 40 more #RocketLaunches 🚀 in 2022 than in 2021 and double the number five years earlier in 2017. "Last year, we saw more #failures 💥 than in some years, because we're starting to go through a phase where we're seeing quite a few new #LaunchVehicles being introduced. It's very difficult to really pinpoint exactly why some fail, some don't. Typically, two in the first 10 flights fail, and the first and second typically have a failure rate of something like 30%" https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230518-what-are-the-odds-of-a-successful-space-launch

A United Launch Alliance #Atlas V #rocket sits on #pad LC-41, waiting to launch a communications #satellite for #NASA. The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System allows NASA to maintain near-constant contact with its Earth-orbiting #spacecraft, including the Space Shuttle and International Space Station, and Antarctica, as well as #LaunchVehicles during ascent.
The Mobile Launch Platform’s umbilical towers obscure the brightly-lit rocket.
The satellited being launched is #TDRS-K, renamed TDRS-11 once operational.
#TDRSS, #UnitedLaunchAlliance, #ULA, #AtlasV, #AtlasV, #AtlasRocket, #Photography, #Photograph, #Photo,
https://heronfox.pixels.com/featured/atlas-v-with-tdrs-k-waiting-for-launch-heron-and-fox.html

Well, it may finally be happening; ULA (the legacy US government space launch company) could be sold. Created as a shotgun marriage joint venture by USAF edict after Boeing was caught hacking LM, it's surprising that it's lasted as long as it has. IMHO, a sale to a third party is more likely than a buyout by one of the owners, but we'll see.

#space #launchvehicles #vulcan #ula

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/03/sources-say-prominent-us-rocket-maker-united-launch-alliance-is-up-for-sale/

ICYMI: ULA Vulcan’s Journey to the Launch Pad https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2023/01/23/vulcans-journey-to-the-launch-pad/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #QuickOverviews #SpaceEconomy #UnitedLaunchAlliance #LaunchVehicles

ULA Vulcan’s Journey to the Launch Pad https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2023/01/23/vulcans-journey-to-the-launch-pad/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #QuickOverviews #SpaceEconomy #UnitedLaunchAlliance #LaunchVehicles