Atlas V

Atlas V

Launch of an Atlas V 401 carrying the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and LCROSS space probes on 18 June 2009.
Function	Medium-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	United Launch Alliance
Country of origin	United States
Cost per launch	US$110–153 million (2016)[1]
Size
Height	Up to 58.3 m (191 ft)
Diameter	3.81 m (12.5 ft)
Mass	590,000 kg (1,300,000 lb)
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Orbital inclination	28.70°
Mass	8,210–18,850 kg (18,100–41,560 lb)[2]
Payload to GTO
Mass	4,750–8,900 kg (10,470–19,620 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Atlas
Based on	Atlas III
Comparable	Delta IV Falcon 9 Long March 3B Proton-M Saturn IB
Launch history
Status	Active, retiring
Launch sites	Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 Vandenberg, SLC-3 (until 2022)
Total launches	103[3][4][5] 401: 41 411: 6 421: 9 431: 3 501: 8 511: 1 521: 2 531: 5 541: 9 551: 16 N22: 3
Success(es)	102 401: 40 411: 6 421: 9 431: 3 501: 8 511: 1 521: 2 531: 5 541: 9 551: 16 N22: 3
Partial failure(s)	15 June 2007
First flight	21 August 2002 (Hot Bird 6)
Last flight	23 June 2025 (KuiperSat KA-02)
Boosters – AJ-60A[6]
No. boosters	0 to 5
Height	17 m (56 ft)[6]
Diameter	1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Gross mass	46,697 kg (102,949 lb)
Propellant mass	42,630 kg (93,980 lb)[7]
Maximum thrust	1,688.4 kN (379,600 lbf)
Specific impulse	279.3 s (2.739 km/s)
Burn time	94 seconds
Propellant	AP / HTPB / Al
Boosters – GEM 63[8][9]
No. boosters	0 to 5
Height	20.1 m (66 ft)[8]
Diameter	1.6 m (63 in)
Gross mass	49,300 kg (108,700 lb)
Propellant mass	44,200 kg (97,400 lb)
Maximum thrust	1,663 kN (374,000 lbf)
Burn time	94 seconds
Propellant	AP / HTPB / Al
First stage – Atlas CCB
Height	32.46 m (106.5 ft)
Diameter	3.81 m (12.5 ft)
Empty mass	21,054 kg (46,416 lb)
Propellant mass	284,089 kg (626,309 lb)
Powered by	1 × RD-180
Maximum thrust	SL: 3,827 kN (860,000 lbf) vac: 4,152 kN (933,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	SL: 311.3 s (3.053 km/s) vac: 337.8 s (3.313 km/s)
Burn time	253 seconds
Propellant	RP-1 / LOX
Second stage – Centaur III
Height	12.68 m (41.6 ft)
Diameter	3.05 m (10.0 ft)
Empty mass	2,316 kg (5,106 lb)
Propellant mass	20,830 kg (45,920 lb)
Powered by	1 × RL10A, 2 × RL10A or 1 × RL10C
Maximum thrust	99.2 kN (22,300 lbf) (RL10A)
Specific impulse	450.5 s (4.418 km/s) (RL10A)
Burn time	842 seconds (RL10A)
Propellant	LH2 / LOX
[edit on Wikidata]

Atlas V^[a] is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas launch vehicle family. It was developed by Lockheed Martin and has been operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA)^[b] since 2006. Primarily used to launch payloads for the United States Department of Defense, NASA, and commercial customers, Atlas V is the longest-serving active rocket in the United States.

Each Atlas V vehicle consists of two main stages. The first stage is powered by a single Russian-made RD-180 engine that burns kerosene and liquid oxygen. The Centaur upper stage uses one or two American-made Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engines that burn liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Strap-on solid rocket boosters (SRBs) are used in several configurations. Originally equipped with AJ-60A SRBs, the vehicle switched to Graphite-Epoxy Motor (GEM 63) boosters beginning in November 2020, except for flights in the Boeing Starliner program. Standard payload fairings measure either 4.2 m (14 ft) or 5.4 m (18 ft) in diameter, with multiple available lengths.^[10]

In August 2021, ULA announced that Atlas V would be retired and all remaining launches had been sold. As of April 2025^[update], 14 launches remain. Production of the rocket ended in 2024.^[11] Future ULA missions will use the Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle,^[12] which was designed in part to comply with a Congressional mandate to phase out use of the Russian-made RD-180 engine.

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