Family-level launch record combining canonical variants, historical missions, public cadence forecasts, and available payload performance specs.
Historical missions are grouped by actual launch year. Forecast cadence uses family-level launch-rate rows.
| Year | Historical missions | Forecast launches |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 6 | 0 |
| 1999 | 5 | 0 |
| 2000 | 8 | 0 |
| 2001 | 4 | 0 |
| 2002 | 4 | 0 |
| 2003 | 3 | 0 |
| 2004 | 5 | 0 |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 |
Payload capacity by variant and target orbit when structured capacity rows are available.
| Variant | Orbit | Capacity | Altitude | Inclination | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No performance specsNo structured payload capacity rows are linked to this vehicle family. | |||||
Latest launched missions using variants in this family.
| Mission | Variant | Launch |
|---|---|---|
| USA 181 [NOSS16] | Atlas 3B SEC | Feb 3, 2005 |
| USA 179 [SDS15] | Atlas IIAS | Aug 31, 2004 |
| AMC-11 | Atlas IIAS | May 19, 2004 |
| Superbird 6 |
Canonical variants rolled up into this launch vehicle family.
| Variant | Stages | Missions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Atlas 3A | Not stated | 2 | Retired |
Atlas 3B DEC | Not stated | 1 | Retired |
Atlas 3B SEC | Not stated | 3 | Retired |
Atlas Able | Not stated | 3 | Retired |
Atlas IIAS |
| Apr 16, 2004 |
| MBSAT Mission | Atlas 3A | Mar 13, 2004 |
| AMC-10 | Atlas IIAS | Feb 5, 2004 |
| USA 174 (UHF F11) | Atlas 3B SEC | Dec 18, 2003 |
| USA 173 [NOSS15] | Atlas IIAS | Dec 2, 2003 |
Upcoming mission rows with announced launch timing.
| Mission | Variant | Announced |
|---|---|---|
No forecasted missionsNo upcoming announced mission rows are linked to this vehicle family. | ||
Atlas Agena A | Not stated | 4 | Retired |
Atlas Agena B | Not stated | 28 | Retired |
Atlas Agena D | Not stated | 15 | Retired |
Atlas B | Not stated | 1 | Retired |
Atlas Burner 2 | Not stated | 2 | Retired |
Atlas Centaur | Not stated | 4 | Retired |
Atlas Centaur D | Not stated | 7 | Retired |
Atlas D | Not stated | 14 | Retired |
Atlas E | Not stated | 22 | Retired |
Atlas E Altair | Not stated | 1 | Retired |
Atlas F | Not stated | 22 | Retired |
Atlas G Centaur | Not stated | 7 | Retired |
Atlas H | Not stated | 5 | Retired |
Atlas I | Not stated | 11 | Retired |
Atlas II | Not stated | 10 | Retired |
Atlas IIA | Not stated | 23 | Retired |
Atlas IIAS | Not stated | 30 | Retired |
Atlas SLV-3 | Not stated | 1 | Retired |
Atlas SLV-3A Agena D | Not stated | 12 | Retired |
Atlas SLV-3 Agena B | Not stated | 1 | Retired |
Atlas SLV-3 Agena D | Not stated | 48 | Retired |
Atlas SLV-3C Centaur | Not stated | 17 | Retired |
Atlas SLV-3D Centaur | Not stated | 32 | Retired |
The Tafuna site is a strategic expansion of the ATLAS Global Federated Network that uses the proprietary Freedom® Software as a Service (GSaaS) platform.
The Atlas-Agena B could barely lift the one-man MTSS configuration according to the report.
The two-man MTSS configuration required the more powerful Atlas-Centaur booster to carry enough payload for experiments and supplies.
The MTSS report recommended starting development with a one-man station launched on an Atlas Agena B in September 1963 as a testbed for experiments and rendezvous and docking.
The Atlas-Agena B and the Centaur were projected to be the only boost vehicles available before 1965 while the Saturn C-1 was scheduled for 1965 and later.
The Emirates Mars Mission gathered precise observations of the Martian moon Deimos and of comet 3I/ATLAS.
Comet 3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar object ever detected to enter the Earth's solar system.
JUICE conducted observations of comet 3I/ATLAS in November.
Data from JUICE’s November observations of comet 3I/ATLAS arrived on Earth last week.
The JANUS camera on JUICE imaged comet 3I/ATLAS at a distance of 0.44 AU.
ESA’s JUICE spacecraft’s science camera captured the first images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.
The Air Force eliminated the Atlas-Agena launch option and decided to launch IDSCS satellites on the fourth Titan IIIC launch.
As many as five to seven Program 369 satellites could be launched by a single Atlas-Agena D rocket.
United Launch Alliance’s 2026 launch queue comprises 2 to 4 Atlas missions and 16 to 18 Vulcan missions.
Gary Wentz is the United Launch Alliance vice president of Atlas and Vulcan Programs.
Vulcan uses the GEM63XL solid rocket boosters, which are a stretched version of the GEM63 used on Atlas.
Vulcan uses GEM63XL solid rocket boosters while Atlas uses GEM63 solid rocket boosters.
Atlas 63XL Delta II-style nosecones may add extra force to the inside of the nozzle near max Q.
Atlas 63 had an asymmetrical nosecone aligned with the nozzles in a slightly outward direction.
Atlas 63XL uses Delta II-style nosecones.