On May 2, 2005, The Boeing Company and the Lockheed Martin Corporation announced their intention to form a joint venture called the United Launch Alliance (ULA).

ULA brings together two of the launch industry’s most experienced and successful teams—the Lockheed Martin Atlas and Boeing Delta teams—that have supported America’s presence in space for almost 50 years. Atlas and Delta expendable launch vehicles have carried more than 850 combined payloads to space ranging from weather, telecommunications and national security satellites that protect and improve life on Earth, to deep space and interplanetary exploration missions that further our knowledge of the universe.

Under ULA, Delta and Atlas rockets will provide safe, cost-efficient, readily available and reliable access to space of U.S. government missions, continuing the tradition of supporting strategic U.S. space initiatives with advanced, robust launch solutions.

ULA is structured as a 50-50 joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The executive management team includes:

• Michael C. Gass–president and chief executive officer (former vice president and general manager, Lockheed Martin Space Transportation)
• Daniel J. Collins–chief operating officer (former vice president, Boeing Expendable Launch Systems)
• Joe Potter–chief financial officer (former Boeing executive)
• Jim Hardin–controller (former Lockheed Martin executive)
• James V. Sponnick–vice president, Atlas Programs (former Lockheed Martin executive)
• Mark Wilkins–vice president, Delta Programs (former Boeing executive)

Under the terms of the joint venture, both former Boeing Delta and Lockheed Martin Atlas rockets will be available for individual missions. This will ensure that government customers are able to make decisions based on launch vehicle and launch site available options to meet the goal of assured access to space. The ULA team will carry out all mission activities, including launch vehicle integration, payload processing, launch operations and mission support.

ULA Team

The United Launch Alliance team consists of approximately 3,800 employees working at sites across the country. Job category functions include program management, engineering, test, manufacturing, launch site operations, mission and business support.

ULA Operations

ULA is headquartered in Denver, Colo., with most engineering and administrative activities consolidated at existing Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company facilities.
Major assembly and integration operations will be located at the former Boeing manufacturing and assembly facility in Decatur, Ala. Atlas V mechanical structures, payload fairing and adapter fabrication and assembly are performed in Harlingen, Tex.

ULA Launch Facilities

ULA launch facilities are located at:

• Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
  • Space Launch Complex 17 Pads A & B (Delta II)
  • Space Launch Complex 37 (Delta IV)
  • Space Launch Complex 41 (Atlas V)

• Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
  • Space Launch Complex 2W (Delta II)
  • Space Launch Complex 6 (Delta IV)
  • Space Launch Complex 3E (Atlas V)

ULA Launch Vehicles

United Launch Alliance flies the proven, reliable and versatile families of Atlas and Delta expendable launch vehicles, offering government customers launch vehicle configurations with the widest range of payload accommodations capable of launching virtually any size payload to nearly all space deployment requirements. The Atlas and Delta launch vehicle families include:

Atlas

Built on a heritage of sequential enhancements to the Atlas I, II and III families, and developed in partnership with the U.S. Air Force Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, the Atlas V provides a single system that can accommodate medium-lift to heavy-lift missions for U.S. government or commercial launches. The continuous improvement approach builds on flight-proven components and previous configurations, including the Centaur upper stage flown on Atlas and Titan vehicles since the 1960s and the RD-180, which first flew on the Atlas III. The Atlas I, II and III families are now retired.

Atlas V uses a structurally stable Common Core Booster™ powered by the RD-180 engine, which can be throttled up or down as the flight profile requires. The booster has provisions for the addition of between one and five Aerojet strap-on solid rocket boosters. The Centaur upper stage, powered by either single or dual RL10 engines, is used with all configurations.

Atlas V makes use of several sizes of payload fairings including the standard 4-meter diameter fairing used on Atlas II/III vehicles. Atlas V introduced a new 5.4-meter diameter fairing that can be flown in three configurations.

Atlas and Centaur are shipped to the launch site and erected in a stationary Vertical Integration Facility atop a mobile launch platform (MLP). About nine hours before launch, the MLP rolls to the pad for final fueling and launch of the rocket. This is referred to as a “clean pad” concept, which streamlines operability at the launch site.

Atlas V configurations can launch single, dual or multiple payloads on the same mission and are capable of lifting payloads from 4,950 kg (10,913 lb) to 13,000 kg (28,660 lb) to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) or from 9,750 kg (21,490 lb) to 29,420 kg (64,860 lb) to low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Delta

Delta rockets have been built and launched since 1960. Delta’s origins go back to the Thor intermediate-range ballistic missile, which was developed in the mid-1950s for the U.S. Air Force. The Thor, a single-stage, liquid-fueled rocket, was modified to become the Delta launch vehicle, which later evolved into the Delta II.

Known as the “workhorse” of the launch industry, the Delta II comprises a group of expendable rockets that can be configured as two- or three-stage vehicles and with three, four or nine strap-on graphite epoxy motors (GEMs) depending on mission needs.

Delta II payload delivery options range from 900 kg (1,980 lb) to 2,170 kg (4,790 lb) to GTO and 2,700 kg (5,960 lb) to 6,100 kg (13,440 lb) to LEO. Two-stage Delta II rockets typically fly LEO missions, while three-stage Delta II vehicles generally deliver payloads to GTO or are used for deep-space explorations.

Delta II can launch single, dual, or multiple payloads on the same mission. To accommodate these varying requirements, the Delta team designed a variety of payload attach fittings and also builds several fairing types to enclose and protect payloads on the launch pad and during ascent.

Delta IV was developed in partnership with the U.S. Air Force EELV program and is the most advanced family of Delta rockets. Delta IV blends advanced and proven technology to launch virtually any size medium-to-heavy class payload to space.

The Delta IV is composed of five vehicle configurations based on a common booster core (CBC) first stage; they include the Medium, three versions of the Medium+ and the Heavy. Each CBC is powered by the proven RS-68 main engine. Delta IV second stages use the RL10B-2 engine with two sizes of expanded fuel and oxidizer tanks depending on the model.

The Delta IV is capable of carrying payloads ranging from 4,300 kg (9,480 lb) to 12,980 kg (28,620 lb) to GTO. Delta IV rockets can also launch payloads ranging from 9,440 kg (20,800 lb) to 22,950 kg (50,600 lb) to LEO.

Each Delta IV is assembled horizontally, erected vertically on the launch pad, integrated with its payload, fueled and launched. This process reduces on-pad time to less than 10 days and the amount of time a vehicle is at the launch site to less than 30 days upon arrival from the factory. This reduces launch site costs and increases customer schedule flexibility.

About United Launch Alliance

Formed in 2006, ULA is the new joint venture organization created to provide reliable, cost-efficient spacecraft launch services for the U.S. government. ULA combines the successful Lockheed Martin Atlas expendable launch vehicle program and the Boeing Delta expendable launch vehicle program to offer U.S. government launch customers a wide variety of launch vehicle and payload accommodation options. U.S. government launch customers include the Department of Defense, NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office and other organizations. ULA program management, engineering, test and mission support functions are headquartered in Denver, Colo. Manufacturing, assembly and integration operations are located at Decatur, Ala. and Harlingen, Tex. Launch operations are located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., and at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.