Volkswagen recalled 246,000 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs in the U.S. and Canada because of a wiring issue that could cause problems with the airbags, windows and brakes of the cars.
Damage to the wiring of the cars could result in airbags deploying “later than designed,” which could lead to injury of people in the vehicle, according to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The wiring issue could also cause other problems in the cars, including the vehicle’s windows rolling down on their own and its electronic parking brake inadvertently engaging at low speeds.
Currently, the company does not have a fix for the issue, according to the report, however Volkswagen will offer a reimbursement program for recalled vehicles.
The recall includes the 2019 through 2023 Volkswagen Atlas, as well as the 2020 through 2023 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport.
Volkswagen will notify owners and dealers by mail on May 10, 2022, if their vehicles are included in the recall. The company will also reach out again when a fix is developed so owners can bring in their SUVs for repair.
In the meantime, owners can check the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website to see if their cars are included in the recall by searching their vehicle identification number, or VIN.
Violence and horror took over Mexican soccer. While the authorities of Queretaro officially report 22 people injured and 9 hospitalized (2 seriously), local media claim there are at least 17 dead after a brutal battle in the match between Queretaro and Atlas.
The chaos erupted in the second half, when Gallos supporters reached the sector assigned for visitors from different access gates and began to attack as many people as appeared in their path.
Should Mexico lose the hosting of the 2026 World Cup?
In 2026, Mexico is scheduled to organize, together with the United States and Canada, the third World Cup in its history, being also the first country to do so, however, several incidents, the last one last Saturday at the Corregidora Stadium in the city of Quertaro, have put into serious question the viability of giving this country the honor of organizing such event.
Read more HERE.
Fans ask Mexico not to host the World Cup in 2026
Dozens of fans reacted and asked on social networks for Mexico to have an exemplary punishment after the acts of violence in the match between Queretaro and Atlas.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which some categorized as ‘alien to sport’, Twitter users have recalled that because of that fact many organizations left the Russians out of any sporting competition.
For this reason, they are calling for the same measures to be taken against Mexico after the violence at the Corregidora Stadium, where 26 people have been hospitalized.
“We are not going to hide anything,” says Queretaro governor
The governor of Queretaro, Mauricio Kuri, offered a message on his Twitter account to reiterate that there are no deaths from the disturbances at the Queretaro-Atlas match, and asked fans to contact authorities if they have verified information.
“We are not going to hide anything. I know that the images from the stadium are disturbing and that names of people who have supposedly passed away have been circulated; but today we confirm that fortunately they are ALIVE and receiving medical attention.”
A line of investigation related to organized crime
As Queretaro authorities investigate the incidents that occurred at the Estadio Corregidora, several versions of the brutal attack on Atlas fans have emerged.
According to journalist Oscar Belman, the disturbances at the Liga MX match allegedly involved huachicoleros and members of the Jalisco Cartel – New Generation.
“‘El Beto’, a violent Gallos fan, allegedly took his group of huachicoleros to the stadium to ambush and attack rivals of the #CJNG, active members of Atlas’ Barra 51,” he wrote.
Chivas fans pray for the health of Atlas fans
In Guadalajara, Chivas fans continue to come to the Jalisco Stadium to leave candles and pray for the health of the Atlas fans who were brutally beaten in Queretaro.
The rivalry between the two Guadalajara teams has been put aside.
In 2021, a man entered the Azteca Stadium with a gun
In October 2021, Mexico City authorities identified the subject who entered the Azteca Stadium with a firearm and recorded himself threatening to “murder” America fans.
According to reports, Mexico City security elements recognized the man as Diego “R” and he already has a wanted file.
However, so far there are no clues as to his whereabouts.
President of Liga MX on the alleged death of Arturo Buenrostro
The president of Liga MX, Mikel Arriola, said that the case of Arturo Buenrostro “I have it under consideration”, but it is not confirmed by official sources.
Arriola explained that the next hours will be crucial to clarify the facts and clarify responsibilities. But he reiterated that there are no confirmed deaths following the brutal fight between Queretaro and Atlas fans.
“We have to assume the official sources as a true and current source. The case of Arturo Buenrostro I have considered, the secretariats have to exchange information on a case-by-case basis. Our task is to confirm with official sources,” he said at a press conference.
“My friend is dead,” says female Atlas fan
Although the governor of Queretaro, Mauricio Kuri, has said that no deaths have been reported in the pitched battle between Queretaro and Atlas fans, a fan of the Zorros has confirmed the death of her friend Arturo Buenrostro.
On Saturday night, the woman burst into tears outside the Estadio Corregidora and said that her friend was brutally beaten.
“It’s already confirmed (the death of) my friend. There are friends who are missing and they still can’t find them,” she said.
FIFA asks Liga MX for justice and repudiates violence
FIFA said in a statement that it “is shocked” by the tragic incident that occurred at the La Corregidora stadium in the city of Quertaro during the match between Quertaro and Atlas. “The acts of violence in the La Corregidora stadium are unacceptable and intolerable,” he added.
In addition, FIFA condemned this incident and encouraged local authorities “to bring swift justice to those individuals responsible.”
“Our thoughts are with all who suffered its consequences,” he said.
Liga MX prohibits the entry of barra bravas from visiting teams
The president of the Liga MX, Mikel Arriola, said in a press conference that the barra bravas of the visiting teams will no longer be able to attend the Liga MX stadiums.
Arriola called an Extraordinary Assembly of the Liga MX on Tuesday morning, in which he will meet with the directors of the Mexican clubs to determine the next steps to follow.
Sister of one of the Atlas fans attacked denounces abuses by the authorities
Tania Silva, sister of one of the Atlas fans attacked by Queretaro fans, denounced on her Twitter account that the authorities allegedly want to arrest to his brother “for damage to the property”.
“As everyone already knows, my brother is in the hospital in Quertaro, as are some of his friends, who are beaten and even so they were taken to the prosecutor’s office, they are detained because of “damage to the property” they also want to arrest my brother,” she wrote.
Report: Queretaro proposed to renew game on Sunday, Atlas refused
According to a report by FOX Sports’ Natalia Len, in an act of pure coldness affront this harsh situation, Queretaro directives had proposed to Atlas to renew the game on Sunday as if nothing had happened. Atlas of course refused this proposal.
This of course, minimizes the tragedy that happened at La Corregidora Stadium, as the directives wanted to resume the game without knowing any sanctions that would be implemented for the team. It is expected to know the deliberation as soon as next Wednesday.
Read more HERE.
The governor of Queretaro meets with the president of Liga MX
The governor of Queretaro, Mauricio Kuri, reported on his Twitter account that he met with Mikel Arriola, president of Liga BBVA MX, and Gabriel Solares, president of Quertaro, to continue the investigations after the brutal fight between fans of Queretaro and The atlas.
“No one will go unpunished,” he said, adding a picture of the meeting.
Could Queretaro be disaffiliated of Liga MX after incident?
The Mexican soccer regulations are clear and focus on several points that the Gallos would have breached after the fight with the Atlas fans, which are based on security issues, repetition of fouls and commitment of local authorities and teams.
A fragment of the regulation says that: “An Affiliate to the FMF (Mexican Football Federation) will lose his affiliation if: b. The team commits a serious offense and / or violates or breaches on more than one occasion any provision of these Regulations, the bylaws, the Directives or the decisions of FIFA, CONCACAF and / or the FMF itself “.
Mikel Arriola also commented that they will not go easy on the sanctions and that, if sufficient evidence is gathered in this legal case against Quertaro, they could disaffiliate the team.
Read more HERE.
How was the dangerous rivalry between the two Mexican teams born?
Rivalries in soccer are very passionate. Some of them, however, have gone beyond the sporting barrier to become a wave of violence between people that has led to tragedies.
Queretaro and Atlas are two Liga MX teams with a short but aggressive history of fights that did not stop at chants and messages of support. The rivalry between the two teams has come to blows and caused several people to be seriously injured as a result of this unbridled passion.
If you want to know more about the origins of the rivalry between the two teams, click here
Queretaro fan boy gave his shirt to Atlas fan to protect her from violence
Hours after dozens of aggressions were recorded at the Estadio Corregidora, one of the young women who attended the Atlas vs. Quertaro match said that she was saved from violence thanks to a child.
The Twitter user, Malcriada como Nairobi, assured that, when violence broke out, a boy approached her and offered her his home team jersey so that she would not be attacked.
“Thanks to the boy from Queretaro who gave me his shirt so I could leave the stadium safely, I hope with all my heart that God blesses you very much,” she wrote.
To prove this, the Twitter user uploaded a photo with the shirt, which has several autographs from the Gallos players.
Gallos directive and Liga MX lying about incident?
ccording to a report by ESPN’s Mauricio Pedroza, directives of Queretaro Gallos and the Liga MX might be withholding information to exhume responsibilities from the incident at the La Corregidora Stadium during last night’s game between Queretaro and Atlas.
According to Pedroza, a member of the team’s directive that preferred to remain anonymous said that “If deaths are reported in or around the stadium, there is a criminal-civil liability for the team and the league. If they are reported dead, they will say they died in the hospital.”
Governor of Jalisco has no report of deaths
The governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro, shared a message on his social networks to reiterate that he has not received any reports of deaths, but that he is still in contact with the governor of Queretaro, Mauricio Kuri, to find those responsible for the fight between Queretaro and Atlas fans.
Atlas fans pray for those involved in violence
In the early hours of Sunday morning, Atlas fans gathered near the Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara to pray for their relatives who were involved in the violent events in Quertaro. Many people carried candles and photographs of their relatives.
Latest official report from Queretaro state government
The government of Queretaro reported that there are at least. 26 injured (24 men and 2 women) and 3 serious patients (one of them was intubated, but no longer needs life support and is in critical moments) following the brutal fight at the match between Queretaro and Atlas.
Three people have been released from the hospital.
In addition, authorities said that the security company did not comply with the corresponding number of elements for the match, for which they are being investigated as part of those responsible.
A firefighter from the State of Queretaro is among the injured.
“There are no detainees,” says Queretaro state government secretary Guadalupe Murguia Gutierrez
Queretaro state government secretary Guadalupe Murgua Gutierrez reported Sunday that so far “there are no detainees,” but “all the necessary investigations are being carried out.”
“We will be informing in case it requires some kind of sanction,” she added. “Investigations are being carried out at the Prosecutor’s Office.”
Gutierrez said that there are several investigation folders, one of them for “attempted homicide.”
Queretaro state authorities are opening an investigation for “attempted homicide”
The governor of the state of Queretaro, Mauricio Kuri, spoke to the media on Sunday to outline the following measures:
-We will instruct the corresponding agencies to attend to the injured and their families.
-We will permanently inform with full transparency the state of health, treatment and analysis of all those involved.
-We ask people to resort to official sources of information to prevent the spread of rumors.
-We will remain in contact with the Governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro, to share all the information with him.
-Those involved will not set foot in the Corregidora Stadium again.
-Several investigation files have been opened. One of them for “attempted homicide”.
“The police did not act with the promptness that was needed,” he said.
Bus with Atlas fans was attacked when leaving Queretaro
One of the buses that arrived in Guadalajara, Jalisco, early Sunday morning was stoned as it left the city of Queretaro. In the video it can be seen how one of the windows of the unit is smashed.
“The people were sad. Since I’ve been traveling with the supporters’ club, I’ve never seen this before”: Atlas’ supporters’ club truck driver narrates the return trip from La Corregidora stadium to Guadalajara. He said that three passengers were missing.
Governor of the state of Queretaro will give a message after the events at La Corregidora stadium
The governor of the state of Queretaro, Mauricio Kuri, will hold a press conference in a few minutes to give more details about the brutal fight between fans at the match between Queretaro and Atlas.
Authorities insist that there are no reports of deaths so far.
The crude testimonies of Atlas fans
“When we wanted to escape through the exit gate, we found that in the away zone there were already Queretaro fans, because the police also opened those security gates for them. They cornered us and threw stones. It was probably all premeditated,” said an Atlas fan involved in the fight, confirming the death of one of his friends.
“We were forbidden to enter with coins and they had ice picks, knives and even guns. There are videos showing the police opening the gates. A close friend died. I saw many dead. The bodies were inert on the ground and they kept beating them. They even chopped off the head of one of the deceased with an ice pick and then took off his clothes. They took absolutely everything from him even if he was already dead”.
Were the police complicit in the brutal Queretaro vs. Atlas brawl?
Images of the brutal fight that took place at the Estadio Corregidora have been reproduced on social networks. Mexican media point out that this happened due to the lack and complicity of the security present.
In different videos it can be seen how the security personnel opened doors to facilitate the fight, were part of the beatings and did not protect the families who were in the conflict zones.
Queretaro fans break the VAR equipment
There were some ultras who did step on the pitch, no police force was reported to prevent a major incident like the one that took place. As the Queretaro ultras got on the pitch, many of them vandalized the VAR equipment that includes a television and the entire setup.
Liga MX officials will need to act agianst all the events that took place in a bloody evening for both Queretaro and Atlas FC fans. The most telling image was a family running away from the brawl and one of the little children not even wearing his Atlas jersey.
Queretaro ultras got so wild that they would even dare hurting a child for wearing the opponent’s kit. More deaths will likely be reported as the hours go by with the tragedy still unfolding.
Which sunday games are suspended?
Liga MX finaly announced they are suspending Sunday’s games, three of them in total. In the morning, Pumas vs Mazatlan is suspended. Pachuca vs Tigres is not happening and Xolos vs San Luis is also suspended. What we have now is a long week filled with investigations and searching of all the people who participated in this unprecedented tragedy in Mexican soccer.
All of them need to respond to justice. But more importnatly, Liga MX as an institution needs to take the necessary measures in order to erradicate this type of violence that comes from ultras getting free range to do what they want.
This is a very similar situation to what England wen’t through during the ’80s as Margaret Thatcher stood up against the infamous Hooligans.
Saturday’s Liga MX match between Queretaro and Atlas was suspended following scenes of violence in the stands that spilled onto the pitch of the Estadio Corregidora.
During the 63rd minute of the match, fans sprinted onto the field to avoid fights that had broken out between supporters of the rival teams. With the score at 1-0 in favor of visitors Atlas, referee Fernando Guerrero stopped the game as more fans began to seek safety on the field.
Guerrero suspended the match initially in hopes order would be restored. However, the violence continued to spread across the upper bowl of the stadium, which hosted World Cup games in 1986. After hundreds of fans continued to flood the field of play, Guerrero halted the game for good.
Pictures and videos shared on social media showed people being beaten, kicked and dragged while others had been left lying on the ground, covered in blood, in what appeared to be the seating area of the stadium in the central city of Queretaro.
Reuters could not independently verify the footage, which was also shown by local television channels.
Liga MX president Mikel Arriola called the violence “inadmissible” and promised there would be “exemplary punishments” doled out for those responsible before confirming that the remaining Liga MX matches for the weekend would not be played.
Following the suspension of the game, the state of Queretaro’s Civil Protection Coordination confirmed that 22 people had been injured, and nine people taken to the hospital — two of which are in critical condition.
Liga MX’s disciplinary committee also announced that they have started an investigation into the matter and will wait for more information to come through.
A powerful United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket launched two “neighborhood watch” satellites for the United States Space Force on Friday (Jan. 21).
The Atlas V lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) Friday, carrying two identical Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites to orbit.
If all goes according to plan, the rocket will deploy the two satellites around six hours and 45 minutes after launch. The GSSAP craft will then make their way to their final destination, a near-geosynchronous orbit about 22,300 miles (36,000 kilometers) above the equator.
Related:What is the U.S. Space Force?
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launches two Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program satellites for the U.S. Space Force on Jan. 21, 2022. (Image credit: ULA)
The satellites are the fifth and sixth GSSAP spacecraft to take flight. ULA launched the first four on two different flights, one in 2014 and the other in 2016. Both of those previous missions employed Delta IV Medium rockets, which were retired in 2019.
GSSAP satellites help U.S. Space Command keep tabs on the traffic in geosynchronous orbit, where a satellite’s orbital velocity matches the speed of Earth’s rotation. This is a prized perch for weather, communications and surveillance satellites, because spacecraft there “hover” over the same patch of the planet continuously (the same longitude, anyway).
GSSAP satellites “provide neighborhood watch services in the Geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO), improving flight safety for all spacefaring nations operating in that orbit,” ULA representatives wrote in a mission description.
“Enhanced position knowledge of satellites at that distance improves the ability to warn a spacecraft owner/operator if there is another object anticipated to approach too closely and create a hazardous situation,” they added. “Data from the GSSAP will uniquely contribute to timely and accurate orbital predictions, enhancing our knowledge of the GEO environment and further enabling spaceflight safety including satellite collision avoidance.”
Friday’s flight was the first ever for an Atlas V in the 511 configuration — one that features a 5-meter-wide (16.5 feet) payload fairing, a single-engine Centaur upper stage and one solid rocket booster strapped to the rocket’s side.
The 511 was the only Atlas V variant that had yet to fly, ULA representatives wrote in the mission description. But a close cousin of that version — the 411, which sports a 4-m-wide (13.2 feet) payload fairing — has flown half a dozen times, they added.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 2:30 p.m. EDT on Jan. 21 with news of successful liftoff.
Mike Wall is the author of “Out There” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.
The Atlas V 511 rocket at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Photo: ULA
On Friday afternoon, United Launch Alliance will attempt to launch a uniquely fitted Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. You can watch the action live right here.
The window for today’s launch will open at 2:00 p.m. EST (11:00 a.m. PST), with forecasters predicting an 80% chance of good weather at Cape Canaveral.
The ULA Atlas V 511 rocket, with its extra-wide faring and lone side rocket booster, will blast off from Space Launch Complex-41. United Launch Alliance will use this unique configuration to launch two satellites for the U.S. Space Force, in a mission known as USSF-8. You can stream ULA’s webcast here, with coverage starting at 1:30 p.m. EST (10:30 a.m. PST):
The two identical satellites, GSSAP-5 and GSSAP-6, represent the fifth and six satellites of Space Force’s Situational Awareness Program. The satellites will go directly to geosynchronous orbit, some 22,300 miles (36,000 km) above the equator, where they will provide “neighborhood watch services” for the purpose of “improving flight safety for all spacefaring nations operating in that orbit,” according to ULA’s mission overview. Data from the GSSAP satellite network will allow for improved orbital predictions, such that satellite controllers can be alerted to possible collisions with space junk or other satellites. The previous four GSSAP satellites were delivered in pairs on Delta 4 rockets in 2014 and 2016.
A view of the rocket with its lone solid-fueled booster.Photo: ULA
ULA says this’ll be the first and only flight of the Atlas V 511 configuration, and it remains the only unflown configuration in the Atlas family of rockets. Since 2002, the Atlas V has flown in 10 different configurations, this being the 11th. Today’s launch will be ULA’s third direct-to-GEO mission, the previous two being AFSPC-11 in 2018 and STP-3 in 2021.
The “511” configuration is in reference to the fairing, side booster, and second stage booster. The “5” represents the width of the payload fairing, which is 5 meters, or 17 feet, across. The first “1” is the number of solid rocket boosters strapped to the side, and the second “1” refers to the number of engines on the second stage Centaur booster. ULA has previously flown an Atlas V 411 rocket, a configuration you should be able to figure out for yourself given my clear and concise explanation.
The single solid-fueled booster gives the rocket a distinctly asymmetrical appearance, but it will provide the additional power needed at liftoff: 371,500 pounds of thrust. The kerosene-fueled main booster will provide 860,200 pounds of thrust, for a total of 1.23 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. The Atlas V 511 is capable of delivering up to 11,570 pounds (5,250 kg) of payload to an elliptical geostationary orbit, according to SpaceFlightNow.
The Atlas V 511, in addition to looking off-kilter, will also exert asymmetrical thrust, as AmericaSpace explains in a post from last year:
Like its smaller cousin, the Atlas V 411—which carries a slightly smaller payload fairing, measuring 13 feet (4 meters) across, and which saw service most recently in February 2020 to launch Solar Orbiter—the 511 will exhibit an unusual “sideways-flying” perspective as it “slides” upward from the pad.
Steering actuators on the Atlas V’s RD-180 engine will counteract the asymmetrical thrust from the single solid and ensure that the rocket flies straight and true, but it will undoubtedly offer a disconcerting sight for spectators. And as [ULA CEO Tory] Bruno previously noted, all Atlas Vs have their own nicknames. With the 411 already dubbed “Slider”, the moniker for the bigger 511 is “Super Slider”.
The entire mission will take slightly less than eight minutes to complete. Key moments will include the jettisoning of the solid rocket booster at two minutes, the jettisoning of the payload fairing at the 3:30 mark, separation of Atlas/Centaur at 4:27, and the first main engine start of Centaur 10 seconds later. The two satellites will separate at marks 6:35 and 6:45. Fingers are crossed that the Super Slider will perform as expected.
More: Elon Musk’s Starlink Is Causing More Streaks to Appear in Space Images
A promotional poster for the USSF-8 mission, showing the Atlas 5’s configuration with a single solid rocket booster and a 5.4-meter (17.7-foot) diameter payload fairing. Credit: United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket has flown in 10 different configurations over 90 missions since 2002, each version optimized to haul satellites of a certain size and mass into space.
The only variant of the Atlas 5 rocket yet to fly is set to launch Friday afternoon from Cape Canaveral with a pair of satellites to help the U.S. military keep track of traffic in geosynchronous orbit.
Fitted with a single solid rocket booster to provide an extra burst of speed off the launch pad, the Atlas 5 is set to depart Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) Friday to begin ULA’s first mission of 2022.
The mission: Deliver the fifth and sixth satellites to orbit for the Space Force’s Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program.
The GSSAP satellites are designed to help the military track and observe objects in geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator. The first four GSSAP satellites launched in pairs on Delta 4 rockets in 2014 and 2016.
In 2017, the military confirmed it ordered two additional GSSAP satellites from Orbital ATK, now part of Northrop Grumman. Those satellites, each the size of a compact car, are mounted side by side inside the Atlas 5 rocket’s payload fairing for launch Friday.
ULA will use a unique configuration of its workhorse Atlas 5 launcher for the mission, which the Space Force has designated USSF 8.
The Atlas 5 will be fitted with a single strap-on solid rocket booster supplied by Northrop Grumman, a 5.4-meter (17.7-foot) diameter payload fairing provided by RUAG Space, and a single RL10 engine from Aerojet Rocketdyne on the rocket’s Centaur upper stage.
This version of the Atlas 5 is known as the “511” configuration, with the first number denoting the size of the payload fairing, the second number representing the number of solid rocket booster, and the third digit the number of engines on the Centaur stage.
The placement of just one strap-on booster on the side of the Atlas 5’s first stage will give the rocket asymmetrical thrust as it climbs off the pad. Atlas 5 missions have flown with a single solid rocket booster before, but those flights used the smaller 4-meter-wide payload fairing option.
The Atlas 5-511 rocket will take off with 1.2 million pounds of thrust from the single solid-fueled booster and the first stage’s kerosene-fueled RD-180 main engine. According to ULA, the Atlas 5-511 can carry up to 11,570 pounds (5,250 kilograms) to an elliptical geostationary transfer orbit. Its capacity to low Earth orbit is roughly 24,250 pounds (11,000 kilograms), according to ULA performance data.
An Atlas 5 rocket rolls out to pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with two GSSAP satellites for the U.S. Space Force. Credit: United Launch Alliance
Tory Bruno, ULA’s CEO, calls the “511” version of the Atlas 5 the “Big Slider.” Its launch Friday will likely be the only flight of the Atlas 5-411 configuration.
“We call it the ‘Big Slider’ because if you watch the launch, you’re going to see it kind of power slide off the pad because of this asymmetric torque,” Bruno said in a video posted on YouTube by ULA. “A lot of you wonder how do you fly that. That nozzle (of the solid rocket booster) is canted to pass through the average center of gravity, and the RD-180 has tremendous control authority with its thrust vector system, and it can overcome that and compensate for it, and this is just the right amount of energy to carry these two payloads to their very cool mission of space surveillance.”
The Atlas 5 rocket was designed by Lockheed Martin to fly in up to 20 different configurations, giving engineers the ability to “dial” the rocket’s power and payload volume to meet the needs of each specific mission. Mission planners have the option of flying a four-meter or five-meter diameter payload fairing, and can fly the Atlas 5 with up to five strap-on solid boosters, or none if the mission doesn’t need them.
The Atlas 5’s Centaur upper stage can fly with one or two RL10 engines, depending on mission requirements. So far, all but one Atlas 5 launch has flown with the single-engine Centaur upper stage.
The exception is on launches with Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which launches with a dual-engine Centaur stage. There are no other missions on the Atlas 5 launch schedule confirmed to use the dual-engine Centaur stage.
The addition of the unique Atlas 5 configuration for Starliner missions and the lack of use of other dual-engine Centaur variants effectively leaves 11 Atlas 5 versions that will have flown at least once before the rocket’s retirement.
Lockheed Martin merged its Atlas rocket program with Boeing’s Delta family in 2006 to create United Launch Alliance.
The most-used version of the Atlas 5 to date is the “401” variant with a four-meter fairing and no solid boosters. The Atlas 5-401 has flown 40 times, including the first Atlas flight in 2002.
There have been six flights of the Atlas 5-411 configuration with a sole solid booster.
With asymmetrical thrust countered by steering from the Atlas 5’s RD-180 main engine, the Atlas 5-511 and -411 configurations are unique among launchers currently in service. The ability to add a single booster allows customers to pay for just enough capacity for their payloads, rather than buying a more larger, more expensive Atlas 5 variant.
ULA is developing the upgraded Vulcan Centaur rocket to replace the Atlas and Delta rocket families.
There are 26 more Atlas 5 rockets remaining in ULA’s inventory, including the launch vehicle awaiting liftoff Friday afternoon. All have been allocated to future missions for the Space Force, NASA, and Amazon’s Kuiper internet satellite constellation.
There are just three Delta rockets left to fly, and all are assigned to carry classified cargo into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office, the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency.
ULA’s ground crew at Cape Canaveral transferred the 196-foot-tall (59.7-meter) Atlas 5 rocket from the company’s Vertical Integration Facility to launch pad 41 Thursday. Technicians began stacking the Atlas 5 inside the vertical hangar Dec. 18 with the lifting of the first stage, followed by attachment of the solid rocket booster, the Centaur upper stage, and finally the GSSAP 5 and 6 satellites inside their payload shroud Jan. 10.
The 1,800-foot (550-meter) rollout took about an hour Thursday morning. After the rocket’s arrival at the launch pad, teams started loading rocket-grade kerosene fuel into the Atlas 5’s first stage.
The launch day countdown will begin seven hours before liftoff, and the Atlas 5 will be loaded with cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants beginning around 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT) Friday. The hydrogen and oxygen will feed the Centaur upper stage’s RL10 engine, while the oxygen will be consumed by the first stage’s RD-180 main engine in combination with kerosene fuel.
After a final readiness check at T-4 minutes, the Atlas 5 countdown will resume from a built-in hold to target launch at 2 p.m. EST.
The RD-180 engine will flash to life at T-minus 2.7 seconds. Moments later, the single solid rocket booster will ignite and send the Atlas 5 downrange on course due east from Cape Canaveral over the Atlantic Ocean.
The Atlas 5-511 vehicle is the last of 11 versions of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket to have never flown. That will change with the USSF-8 mission. Credit: United Launch Alliance
The rocket will exceed the speed of sound in 58 seconds, and the strap-on booster will burn its pre-packed fuel supply before its release from the Atlas 5’s first stage at T+plus 2 minutes.
The payload fairing will jettison at T+plus 3 minutes, 30 seconds, followed by shutdown of the RD-180 first stage engine at T+plus 4 minutes, 21 seconds. Six seconds later, the Atlas 5’s first stage will separate to clear the way for ignition of the Centaur stage’s RL10 engine at T+plus 4 minutes, 37 seconds, for an eight-and-a-half minute burn.
After reaching a parking orbit with the twin GSSAP satellites, the Centaur stage will coast most of the way around the world before reigniting its RL10 engine for a four-minute burn over the Pacific Ocean northeast of Australia. That will send the upper stage and the GSSAP satellites into an elongated transfer orbit stretching as far as 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) from Earth.
A final burn of the RL10 engine, lasting nearly two minutes, is scheduled six-and-a-half hours into the mission, once the rocket reaches the proper altitude for deployment of the two GSSAP spacecraft. The two satellites will separate one at a time at T+plus 6 hours, 35 minutes, and T+plus 6 hours, 45 minutes.
The GSSAP satellites will unfurl their solar panels and contact ground stations, allowing military personnel to confirm each spacecraft’s health and status following launch. After a period of checkouts and commissioning, the satellites will enter operational service for the Space Force.
The GSSAP satellites lurk near the ring of geosynchronous satellites that fly around Earth at the same speed of the planet’s rotation, allowing craft to remain over a fixed geographic location. Commercial companies and defense agencies use the orbit for communications, missile warning and signals intelligence missions.
Not only can the surveillance platforms help the Air Force track objects in geosynchronous orbit — a capability needed to manage traffic and avoid collisions — the GSSAP spacecraft can adjust their orbits to approach and image other satellites using sharp-eyed optical cameras.
The GSSAP satellites’ ability to maneuver around other spacecraft gives military officials data on the location, orbit and size of other objects in geosynchronous orbit, according to the Space Force, “enabling characterization for anomaly resolution and enhanced surveillance, while maintaining flight safety.”
“Data from GSSAP uniquely contributes to timely and accurate orbital predictions, enhancing our knowledge of the geosynchronous orbit environment, and further enabling space flight safety to include satellite collision avoidance,” officials wrote in the Space Force’s official GSSAP fact sheet.
The GSSAP program, which was classified until 2014, produces data that helps military and other government satellites “navigate freely and safely” in geosynchronous orbit, according to the Space Force’s Space Systems Command.
“The first four GSSAP satellites have performed remarkably well,” said Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of Space Operations Command. “These next two satellites will add to that capability and enable us to understand more completely things that occur in the geosynchronous orbit. It’s a key piece in the puzzle for space domain awareness.”
“The way I describe it is a neighborhood watch capability,” said Gen. John “Jay’ Raymond, the chief of space operations and the highest-ranking officer in the Space Force. “It allows us to better understand what’s going on in the domain, especially in a really critical orbit like geosynchronous orbit.”
Artist’s concept of two GSSAP spacecraft in orbit. Credit: U.S. Air Force
The Air Force sent one of the GSSAP satellites to the aid of a crippled U.S. Navy communications satellite in 2016. The Navy’s fifth MUOS relay satellite ran into propulsion trouble after launch, forcing it to use backup thrusters to climb into its perch in geosynchronous orbit.
The GSSAP satellite changed course to capture imagery of the MUOS 5 spacecraft to give engineers insight into its status and condition, the Air Force said.
“Historically, the way we have surveilled or had awareness of the domain is we’ve taken observations from radars or optical capabilities, and we’ve come up with an address in space, if you will, of objects,” Raymond said Tuesday in a virtual discussion hosted by the Mitchell Institute.
Cataloguing satellites and space debris has been the a chief goal of the military’s space-related efforts for decades. But with countries like China and Russia fielding increasingly sophisticated military spacecraft, including anti-satellite capabilities, the Space Force needs the GSSAP satellites to add a new dimension in its tracking of objects in orbit.
“We’ve been worried about making sure two things don’t collide, that we can keep that domain safe for all, which is critical. But it’s not sufficient,” Raymond said. “If you move into a war fighting domain, you have to have more knowledge than just where something is. You have to have some insights into what those capabilities are ,and this neighborhood watch capability has provided us a fuller look at what’s in space, specifically in the geosynchronous domain.”
The fifth and six satellites will provide “additional capacity” for the GSSAP network to better cover the large volume of space in the geosynchronous belt, Raymond said in response to questions from Spaceflight Now.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An Atlas V rocket lit up the predawn sky over Florida early Tuesday (Dec. 7) to launch a novel NASA laser space communications satellite into orbit alongside a host of other payloads for the U.S. Space Force.
The two-stage Atlas V rocket blasted off from Space Launch Complex 41 here at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:19 a.m. EST (1019 GMT), as part of a mission called STP-3 (Space Test Program-3). The successful liftoff came more than an hour after the mission’s planned launch time due to high upper level winds, and after days of delays due to a fuel leak at the launch pad.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V soared into orbit with the help of five solid rocket boosters. Onlookers were treated to dazzling views of the rocket as it raced through the atmosphere.
Related:The history of rockets
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA’s Laser Communication Relay Demonstration instrument launches on the (Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)
The 196-foot-tall (59.7 meters) Atlas V launched in its most hefty configuration: the 551. This means that the rocket was powered by five strap-on solid rocket motors, a single-engine Centaur upper stage, and its payload is tucked inside a 16.4-foot-wide (5 m) fairing.
This version of the Atlas V has now flown a dozen times over the years, carrying a variety of payloads including NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance Mars rovers, as well as a host of satellites for the Department of Defense, and more.
Tuesday’s flight marks the 90th flight of an Atlas V rocket since the formation of ULA in 2002. (The company is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing.) It also marks the 672nd overall flight of an Atlas family rocket since its debut in the 1950s.
Tucked inside the payload fairing are two satellites, each containing a host of technological prototypes and experiments that will be tested in orbit. Sponsored by the U.S. military’s Space Test Program — a department dedicated to overseeing the Department of Defense’s space-related activities — most of the payloads onboard are classified, but they are resting on a new platform designed for long-duraton flight. Known as LDPE-1 (short for Long Duration Propulsive Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter 1), the vehicle is designed to host payloads in orbit for up to three years.
We do know a few details about some of the other payloads on board, including a novel laser communication payload for NASA.
Called Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), the experimental satellite will help NASA transmit data across space as the agency plans to make a return to the moon in the next few years. Currently, the agency relies on communications methods that rely on radio frequencies, but the lasers are significantly more efficient, agency officials have said.
The experiment is riding on the STPSat-6 satellite, which also includes the NASA-U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Ultraviolet Spectro-Coronagraph mission to study the origin of solar particles from the sun.
An artist’s impression of NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration mission communicating data from the International Space Station to Earth. (Image credit: Dave Ryan/NASA)
“It’s a gamechanger for exploration and science,” said Glenn Jackson, NASA’s project manager for the LCRD mission. “[Optical communications] to reduce the weight of communications systems, decrease the power use and we get 10 to 100 times the bandwidth capability. That’s a huge gamechanger for those people planning missions and getting ready for a presence at the moon and exploring Mars.”
Also on board is a payload for the National Nuclear Security Administration that is designed to detect nuclear detonations from space, as well as a new type of space-based propulsion system that will be tested in orbit.
Tuesday morning’s flight was expected to put the Atlas V to the test as it is scheduled to set an endurance record for the launcher. The two satellites on board will be deposited into a geosynchronous orbit sailing roughly 22,000 miles over the equator.
To that end, the Atlas V’s Centaur upper stage (which is propelled by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engine) will take six-and-a-half hours to conduct three burns in order to reach the target orbit.
STPSat-6 of the Department of Defense carries NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration instrument. (Image credit: NASA)
“This is a highly complex orbital insertion that requires three Centaur burns and precise navigation, a capability unique to the Atlas V,” Gary Wentz, ULA’s vice president of government and commercial programs said in a statement. “This is our longest mission to date at seven hours and 10 minutes until final spacecraft separation.”
Typically, satellites that are heading to a similar orbit are dropped into an oval-shaped transfer orbit and maneuver themselves to their final orbit. Today’s launch will set a record for the Atlas V and its Centaur upper stage as it pushes the limits of Centaur’s capability.
The rocket’s first stage, which features a kerosene-powered RD-180 engine, will provide the majority of the thrust in addition to the five boosters. Together they will pack 2.6 million pounds of thrust to get the Atlas off the pad.
The flight also features three new upgrades to the Atlas V rocket — new payload fairings, an in-flight power system, and enhanced GPS navigation system — which will be tested in advance of flying on the upcoming Vulcan Centaur rocket. (The next-generation launcher is scheduled to begin flying sometime next year, and will replace the Atlas V.)
ULA hopes that by testing these new features on Atlas, they will see how they perform in-flight and have a better understanding of the hardware before it debuts on a brand new rocket.
An artist’s illustration of the LDPE-1 long-duration payload experiment platform launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration satellite on Dec. 7, 2021. (Image credit: United Launch Alliance)
Tuesday’s launch comes on the heels of SpaceX’s 27th rocket launch of the year, which blasted off from an adjacent pad on Thursday night (Dec. 2) and delivered 50 satellites to orbit, including 48 of the company’s own Starlink internet satellites.
It also is the first of an early morning launch doubleheader here on the Space Coast. On Thursday morning (Dec. 9), just under 48-hours after the Atlas V’s launch, another SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will take to the skies, this time carrying with it a space observatory for NASA.
That mission will launch NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) at 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) on Thursday to help astronomers better understand the polarization of cosmic light, and X-rays produced from black holes and neutron stars.
In addition to those launches, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos will launch two Japanese space tourists (billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and his video producer Yozo Hirano) to the International Space Station with cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin on a 12-day spaceflight. That mission lifts off Wednesday (Dec. 8) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Also launching this week is Blue Origin’s suborbital New Shepard NS-19 space tourism mission, which will fly six people — including Good Morning America host Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of first American in space Alan Shepard — on a short trip to space. That mission will launch Thursday from Blue Origin’s launch site near Van Horn, Texas.
Follow Amy Thompson on Twitter @astrogingersnap. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
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Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Atlas 5 rocket with the U.S. Space Force’s STP-3 mission, carrying two satellites hosting technology demonstration experiments to geosynchronous orbit. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.
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A U.S. military mission will get off the ground Tuesday morning (Dec. 7) after a two-day delay, and you can watch the liftoff live.
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket is scheduled to launch the Space Test Program-3 (STP-3) mission at 4:04 a.m. EST (0904 GMT) Tuesday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. You can watch the launch live here at Space.com, courtesy of ULA, or directly via the company.
STP-3 was originally supposed to launch on Sunday (Dec. 5), but that plan was nixed after crews discovered a leak in the ground system that stores rocket propellant at Cape Canaveral. Fixing the leak and verifying that all is now well with the system resulted in a 48-hour delay, ULA representatives explained via Twitter over the weekend.
Related:The history of rockets
STP-3 will launch two satellites that carry a variety of technology-demonstrating payloads, most of them sponsored by the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program. Many of the payloads are classified, but we know a bit about a few of them.
For example, the larger of the two satellites, called STPSat-6, carries a new NASA laser-communication system and a National Nuclear Security Administration payload designed to detect the detonation of nuclear bombs from space.
The STP-3 launch will kick off a very busy three-day stretch in spaceflight. A Russian Soyuz rocket is scheduled to launch billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and two other people toward the International Space Station early Wednesday morning (Dec. 8), for example, and a Rocket Lab Electron booster will send two commercial Earth-observation satellites to orbit that same evening.
Thursday (Dec. 9) will see the launch of NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer satellite atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as well as the liftoff of Blue Origin’s NS-19 space tourism mission. NS-19 will send six people — including Good Morning America host and former NFL star Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of first American in space Alan Shepard — on a brief trip to suborbital space.
Mike Wall is the author of “Out There” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.
An Atlas 5 rocket stands on pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station before launch on the STP-3 mission. Credit: United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance delayed the planned launch of an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Sunday after discovering a kerosene fuel leak in the launch pad’s ground storage system. Officials tentatively rescheduled launch with two U.S. military satellites for Monday morning.
ULA announced the launch delay around 7 p.m. EST Saturday (0000 GMT Sunday), just prior to the start of the countdown for a planned liftoff before dawn Sunday.
“During initial operations, a leak was discovered in the Rocket Propellant-1 (RP-1) ground storage system,” ULA said in a brief statement.
RP-1 is a highly-refined rocket-grade kerosene fuel used on the Atlas 5 rocket’s first stage. The first stage’s Russian-made RD-180 engine consumes kerosene fuel in a mixture with super-cold liquid oxygen.
The kerosene fuel was supposed to be loaded on the Atlas 5 first stage Friday afternoon, following rollout of the rocket from ULA’s Vertical Integration Facility to launch pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. But the fuel loading was delayed to Saturday, and ULA didn’t say why teams were unable to complete the process Friday.
The Atlas 5 launch team loads cryogenic propellants into the Atlas 5 just a few hours before liftoff. The rocket’s Centaur upper stage consumes super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
The new target launch time is at 4:04 a.m. EST (0904 GMT) Monday, the opening of a two-hour launch window, according to ULA.
The official launch weather outlook from the U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predicts a 90% chance of favorable weather for liftoff early Monday. Forecasters expect partly cloudy skies and patchy fog on Florida’s Space Coast, winds from the south at 6 knots, and a temperature of 64 to 66 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Atlas 5 rocket will launch with two U.S. Space Force satellites hosting an array of technological prototypes and experiments. Military engineers will test their readiness for use on future operational space missions.
The launch is sponsored by the military’s Space Test Program, which oversees many of the Defense Department’s experimental space missions. The larger of the two satellites on the Atlas 5 rocket, named STPSat 6 and built by Northrop Grumman, hosts a NASA laser communications experiment and a payload for the National Nuclear Security Administration designed to detect nuclear detonations to verify international treaty compliance.
The military hasn’t disclosed specifics for other experiments on the mission, but officials said they generally will test technologies related to space domain awareness, space weather monitoring, and communications.
A rideshare satellite named the Long Duration Propulsive ESPA, or LDPE 1, also is riding to orbit on the Atlas 5 rocket. It is mounted to the rocket below STPSat 6 inside the 17.7-foot (5.4-meter) diameter payload fairing.
LDPE 1 hosts its own technological experiments, and will have its own propulsion system to maneuver in space.
The Atlas 5 rocket will aim to release both satellites in geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator around seven hours after liftoff.
