United Launch Alliance Concludes Banner Year

After 14 successful launches, major milestones in 2014, ULA sets its sights on 2015

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Dec 29, 2014, 07:34 ET

CENTENNIAL, Colo., Dec. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- United Launch Alliance, the nation's premier space launch provider, congratulates its employees, suppliers and customers on another successful year, reliably and affordably launching 14 satellites to orbit with 100 percent mission success.

"What ULA has accomplished this year, in support of our customers' missions, is nothing short of remarkable," said ULA CEO Tory Bruno. "When you think about every detail – all of the science, all of the planning, all of the resources – that goes into a single launch, it is hard to believe that we successfully did it at a rate of about once a month, sometimes twice."

This year, ULA's 14-mission manifest spanned:

9 national security space missions, including four Global Positioning System satellites for the U.S. Air Force
3 space exploration missions, including NASA's first Exploration Flight Test for Lockheed Martin's Orion spacecraft
2 commercial missions, including DigitalGlobe's WorldView-3, which provides the latest Earth imaging capabilities

Other major accomplishments in 2014 included:

The 51^st successful launch of the Delta II
The 50^th successful launch of the Atlas V
The 25^th successful launch of the Delta IV
Twice successfully launching two different missions from two different coasts in one week
ULA's 90^th successful launch, an unmatched record of success

"This year we were reminded just how hard rocket science can be," said Bruno. "It takes a special group of people to be in this business, and I am truly humbled to work among dedicated individuals who have exhibited a total focus on precision, a passion for the science of rocketry and space, and a deep commitment to our purpose."

This year also marked the start of the five-year contract between United Launch Alliance and the Air Force, a best-practice, multi-year acquisition process that will save the government $4.4 billion, ensure significant operations efficiencies, and create the needed stability and predictability in the supplier and industrial base, while meeting national security space requirements.

Additionally, this year ULA partnered with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to develop a new domestic engine, an all-American rocket engine that will power ULA's next-generation vehicles. The new engine, the BE-4, will lower the cost of launches and will meet both commercial requirements and those of the U.S. Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program.

Also this year, ULA and its partner, The Boeing Company, were selected to support NASA's Commercial Crew program, sending critical cargo and the next generation of astronauts to the International Space Station. As America's ride to space, ULA will launch Boeing's manned CST-100 spacecraft by 2017, playing a pivotal role in advancement of human spaceflight.

"It goes without saying: ULA had a banner year," Bruno said. "As we look ahead to 2015, we could not be more honored to continue supporting our nation in one of the most technologically complex, critical American needs: affordable, reliable access to space."

With more than a century of combined heritage, United Launch Alliance is the nation's most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 90 satellites to orbit that provide critical capabilities for troops in the field, aid meteorologists in tracking severe weather, enable personal device-based GPS navigation and unlock the mysteries of our solar system.

For more information on ULA, visit the ULA website at www.ulalaunch.com, or call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321). Join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch, twitter.com/ulalaunch and instagram.com/ulalaunch.

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SOURCE United Launch Alliance