United Launch Alliance successfully launches NROL-101 mission in support of national security

United Launch Alliance successfully launches NROL-101 mission in support of national security

Press release from: United Launch Alliance
Published: Friday 13 November 2020

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the NROL-101 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) took off November 13 at 5:32 PM EST from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

“Thanks to our mission partners, the NRO and the United States Space Force for their continued trust and collaboration with ULA,” said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president for government and commercial programs. “This launch was the inaugural launch of our new GEM 63 solid rocket engines, a critical step for ULA to build flight experience in preparation for the Vulcan Centaur, our next generation launch vehicle.”

The NROL-101 mission was the first ULA launch with the new Northrop Grumman Graphite Epoxy Motors (GEM) 63 solid rocket thrusters that burn solid propellant and increase the lift capacity of the rocket’s first stage. The GEM 63s measure 1.6 meters (63 inches) in diameter and 20.11 meters (66 feet) in length. Each GEM 63 produced 371,550 pounds (1.6 mega-Newton) of maximum thrust to increase the 860,200 pounds (3.83 mega-Newton) of thrust produced by the RD-180 main engine to power the Atlas V rocket skyward. At takeoff, the combined thrust was nearly 1.8 million pounds or 8 million mega-Newtons.

The mission was launched on an Atlas V 531 that including a 5 meter payload fairing. The Atlas booster for this mission was powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine. Aerojet Rocketdyne supplied the RL10C-1 engine for the Centaur upper stage.

This was the 86th launch of the Atlas V rocket and the 71st Atlas V will be launched from Space Launch Complex-41 in Florida.

ULA’s next launch is the NROL-44 mission for the NRO from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

To date ULA has been launched 141 times with 100% mission success.

With over a century of combined heritage, ULA is the nation’s most experienced and trusted launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered 140 missions to orbit that help forecasters track adverse weather conditions, unravel the mysteries of our solar system, provide critical capabilities for field troops, provide state-of-the-art commercial services and enable GPS navigation. For more information on ULA, visit the ULA website at www.ulalaunch.comor call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321).

Join the conversation on www.facebook.com/ulalaunch, twitter.com/ulalaunch is instagram.com/ulalaunch.

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