ILS gets NRO launch contract
Posted: Tue, Feb 8, 2005, 7:19 AM ET (1219 GMT)
International Launch Services (ILS) said Monday that it had won a contract to launch a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellite on an Atlas 5 booster. The contract is for a mission designated NROL-24; no details about the satellite itself were released. The payload will be launched on an Atlas 5 401 booster from Cape Canaveral in mid-2007. the Atlas 5 has flown four times, all for commercial customers; the first government Atlas 5 mission is planned for April 2006. The Atlas 5 was the only option for NRO because of an existing contracting ban against Boeing's Delta 4 EELV because of ethical improprieties during the original EELV competition in the 1990s, although Boeing officials have recently suggested that the Air Force will lift the ban in the near future.
International Launch Services (ILS) said Monday that it had won a contract to launch a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellite on an Atlas 5 booster. The contract is for a mission designated NROL-24; no details about the satellite itself were released. The payload will be launched on an Atlas 5 401 booster from Cape Canaveral in mid-2007. the Atlas 5 has flown four times, all for commercial customers; the first government Atlas 5 mission is planned for April 2006. The Atlas 5 was the only option for NRO because of an existing contracting ban against Boeing's Delta 4 EELV because of ethical improprieties during the original EELV competition in the 1990s, although Boeing officials have recently suggested that the Air Force will lift the ban in the near future.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, October 4
Starship’s successful launch to low Earth orbit is a big deal
The Hill — 12:29 am ET (0429 GMT) Cowen Defends SpaceX De-Annexation Deal as a ‘Historic Opportunity’ for Brownsville’s Water Future
Rio Grande Guardian — 12:28 am ET (0428 GMT) Oman space conference 2026 opens in Muscat
Muscat (Oman) Daily — 12:28 am ET (0428 GMT) France eyes commercial rocket launch from Al Duqm
Oman Observer — 12:24 am ET (0424 GMT) India tests 5.56-km quantum link, ISRO eyes secure communication from space
India Today — 12:23 am ET (0423 GMT) |
