0
Consec. Success
The Story
United Launch Alliance was formed in 2006 as a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, consolidating America's two dominant military launch providers into one. For over a decade, ULA was the unquestioned backbone of US national security spaceflight — launching GPS satellites, reconnaissance assets, and planet...
In short
“ULA has never failed to deliver a payload to orbit — a record spanning over 150 consecutive launches.”
Atlas V has launched missions to every planet in the solar system
ULA has a perfect mission success rate across its entire launch history
New Horizons — the only spacecraft to visit Pluto — launched on an Atlas V
Vulcan's upper stage is designed to remain operational in space for years
Milestones
2006
ULA formed
Boeing and Lockheed Martin merge launch operations under US government pressure
2007
First launches
First Atlas V and Delta IV launches under ULA branding
2015
Monopoly ends
SpaceX wins first US Air Force contract, ending ULA's sole-source position
2019
Vulcan announced
Tory Bruno announces Vulcan Centaur as ULA's next-generation rocket
2022
BE-4 delivered
Blue Origin delivers flight-ready BE-4 engines for Vulcan
2024
Vulcan certified
Vulcan Centaur completes certification launches for national security missions
Key People
What's Next
The road ahead for United Launch Alliance
Vulcan Centaur replaces Atlas V and Delta IV as the flagship vehicle. Powered by Blue Origin BE-4 engines and designed for a wider range of orbits, it targets national security and commercial customers. The partial reuse of its engine section is ULA's measured concession to the economics SpaceX has made unavoidable.