Active
Vulcan Centaur
Next-generation medium-to-heavy-lift launch vehicle replacing Atlas V and Delta IV, powered by BE-4 engines.
United Launch AllianceAtlas V
Activewinding down
Workhorse medium-lift launch vehicle with a 100% mission success rate, being phased out in favor of Vulcan Centaur.
Latest update Sep 19, 2026
01
Current status
Amazon Leo campaign complete after LEO 8 on July 2, 2026 (224 satellites across eight Atlas V flights, per ULA). Remaining Atlas V vehicles are reserved for Boeing Starliner; no Atlas V launch has flown since LEO 8 as of September 19, 2026.
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Specifications6
03
Upcoming milestones2
Announced next steps from United Launch Alliance that mention Atlas V.
2026-2027
Rebuild launch cadence once Vulcan returns to flight
ULA entered 2026 aiming for 18-22 launches (16-18 Vulcans plus 2-4 Atlas Vs), but the Vulcan grounding left it with just five launches through September 19, 2026 (one Vulcan and four Atlas V Amazon Leo flights), putting the full-year goal out of reach. Ars Technica reported September 11 that Vulcan prices have risen to more than $200 million per mission and that several NSSL missions have already been reassigned to SpaceX. The near-term focus is posting a return-to-flight date and rebuilding cadence into 2027 through the 38-launch Amazon Vulcan backlog and the NSSL Phase 3 manifest. ULA said it still has more than 80 launches on contract.
Dec 2026
Fly uncrewed Starliner-1 on Atlas V
04
In the news2
NASA sets uncrewed Starliner-1 for Dec-Jan, crewed flight in 2028
NASA and Boeing said Monday an uncrewed Starliner-1 flight to the ISS is targeted for December 2026 or January 2027 to test propulsion fixes from the 2024 Crew Flight Test. A crewed Starliner-2 mission is planned for mid-2028 under commander Woody Hoburg. NASA's Dana Weigel put spacecraft upgrades plus ULA Vulcan human-rating at $359 million; Starliner-1 through 4 remain on Atlas V, with Starliner-5 and 6 planned for Vulcan.
www.cbsnews.com www.space.com spaceflightnow.com payloadspace.com + Boeing
ULA flies final Atlas V 551 on Amazon Leo mission
United Launch Alliance launched the last Atlas V in its powerful 551 configuration in the early hours of July 2 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, carrying 29 Amazon Leo broadband satellites - a roughly 18-ton payload that tied the record for the heaviest load ever flown on an Atlas V. It was Amazon Leo's eighth and final launch on Atlas V, with future constellation flights shifting to ULA's next-generation Vulcan Centaur. Amazon said its low-Earth-orbit network stood at about 367 satellites before the mission, on the way to a planned fleet of more than 3,000.
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More from United Launch Alliance2
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