ULA Stops Selling Atlas Rocket Launches

The Atlas rocket traces its ancestry back to the 1950's, it's been at the core of the US space capabilities, carrying historic payloads for NASA, the DoD and commercial partners.
This week ULA made it clear that it has no more Atlas rockets for sale as it move to transition to Vulcan which is not reliant on engines from Russia.
There are 29 launches left, which is likely more than some 'new' rockets, but this decade should see the final flights of Atlas, Delta and Proton - all historic vehicles with their roots in the cold war.

[@Ivandor12]

The 100th anniversary of a spacecraft is strange to think about!

[@MrTurboTash]

And until recently was still the main work-horse for crewed flights.

[@DarkSapiens]

It kind of makes me think of the long lives of Star Trek starship types, haha

[@PantherBlitz]

The B-52 will most likely by in service for it's 80th birthday and perhaps could live to see 90.

[@TexanUSMC8089]

@@PantherBlitz And C130's. Not many things can beat the M-2 50 cal machinegun though.

[@AaronShenghao]

@@TexanUSMC8089 it’s hard to kill a simple yet reliable and effective design.

[@sixstringedthing]

End of an era indeed. Impressive launch record. Where are the engines Jeff?

[@Methoverbitches]

He’s busy renting yachts

[@pfisherking]

Where are the engines, indeed.

[@danielmonge2318]

Too busy suing people

[@thePronto]

Kuiper will be flying on Atlas? Best laugh I've had all day. Where are the satellites Jeff?

[@craigduncan4826]

I know. Take my money and shower my face in excrement Jeff Infact take every American taxpayers money and shower them all in excrement! Yay

[@nathanlewis42]

It is funny that a rocket originally developed to strike the Soviet Union became dependent upon Russian rocket engines.

[@nathanlewis42]

@Erre Waser those engines are not used in missiles but the Atlas 5 has been used to launch spy satellites so they could be getting spied on by satellites lifted by their engines.

[@commscan314]

Also, the Russians were selling those engines on practical clearance.

[@brianfoss571]

Amazing what happens when a cold war ends and competition between superpowers no longer drives space politics. You could also say it's "funny" that a space station intended to one-up Mir ended up mated to Mir's successor and "became dependent" on said-successor's maneuvering thrusters.

[@GumballAstronaut7206]

Imagine if you told that to a NASA engineer in the early 60’s whos working on Atlas “Oh yeah in the 2000’s Atlas will still be flying and it won’t have balloon tanks anymore, it’ll have rigid construction…….also it’ll be powered by russian engines.”

[@alexanderk.3177]

Back in 2003-04 I worked as a translation editor on the Pratt & Whitney RD 180 project --- P&W acquired the entire manufacturing paperwork for RD 180 and split it between several subcontractors for English translation. Seventeen years ago! Time flies.

[@rahulkulkarni3238]

You know the energia rocket is huge when it's single booster is being as a launch vehicle.

[@Br3ttM]

The US tried to make a launch vehicle out of the shuttle SRB, but that never went anywhere.

[@Patchuchan]

@@Br3ttM Feature creep the original concept was equivalent to a Saturn IB they ended up trying to make it deliver Delta IV heavy payloads then they dropped the SSME for various reasons and went to the J-2X the lower ISP meant the stage needed more propellant. They probably could have made it work with enough money but it would have been cheaper to use one of the EELVs.

[@fedora997]

@@Br3ttM You mean the Ares 1X?

[@CyberSamurai4Life]

Scott sets the standards for all things space and rocket related on KZbin. Thank you so much for everything you do.

[@rwboa22]

Atlas V was also a complete departure from the old Atlas ICBM, mainly that the tanks were standard rigid tank designs, not the "balloon" tanks associated with the Atlas ICBM and it's derivatives. Delta IV was mainly a super sized classic Delta rocket, albeit retooled around the J-2 and RS-25/SSME-derived RS-68 engine as a means to replace the Titan IV rocket.

[@pseudotasuki]

That was Atlas III. The current Delta IV has nothing in common with Delta II or earlier.

[@aDifferentJT]

@@pseudotasuki Atlas III has balloon tanks

[@zenithparsec]

So what you're saying is both of them weren't really the same thing, but they kept the name for marketing reasons?

[@pseudotasuki]

@@aDifferentJT Derp. Right.

[@pseudotasuki]

@@zenithparsec Kinda. Delta III was kinda like a stretched Delta II with a new cryogenic upper stage, then Delta IV was basically Delta II with a new booster stage. Sort of a Ship of Theseus.

[@Clockdistrict]

Atlas and Delta have some incredible heritage and history behind them, as excited as I am for Vulcan, I'm really sad to see Atlas go.

[@Noone-jn3jp]

Progress is always a welcome sight

[@giovannirodriguesdasilva646]

If Blue Origin delivers the BE4 someday in this decade, maybe the Vulcan will fly

[@theluftwaffle1]

@@giovannirodriguesdasilva646 Jeff will grow hair before we see those engines.

[@giovannirodriguesdasilva646]

@@theluftwaffle1 It's an incredible 1 billion a year and they have nothing but a glorified hydrogen powered grashoopper/starhopper

[@philipgrice1026]

@@giovannirodriguesdasilva646 Worse, it's can't fly as far as the WWII V2! Nor deliver a 1 one ton payload. Heck, if they launched one from the Kennedy Space Center they couldn't even hit Miami. Unfortunately. Yeah, yeah, I know it can land without crashing but heck, Jeff's huge dildo is reusable but performs no better than Hitler's in 1945.

[@mikerichards6065]

Well worth hunting down an old Channel 4 documentary called 'The Engines that Came in from the Cold' originally shown in the UK back in the 1990s which had a lot of footages of these engines and their predecessors dating all the way back to the N1.

[@unpaintedleadsyndrome]

that wasn't much of a hunt :-) kzbin.info/www/bejne/in7FnZKlm6tmd68

[@funnyitworkedlasttime6611]

They must be pretty confident they will be getting some BE-4’s in the not so distant future. That makes one of us.

[@understandingautism1389]

Seriously!!

[@WolfeSaber9933]

ULA has a second engine they can go with, the AR1.

[@M167A1]

Agreed, I'm hoping they succeed but they have made a lot of difficult promises that I wonder if they will be able to fill.

[@illustriouschin]

Blue Origin is a bureaucratic nightmare. It's a miracle those clowns can randomly bumble their way into work in the morning.

[@bobshowrocks]

@@WolfeSaber9933 the main reason they went with the BE-4 was because it was further along the development process than the AR-1. There's no way that they will "simply" switch to a totally different engine and not fall further behind schedule.

[@coffeespy1133]

Think about it, this rocket series has flown for over 60 years. It’s flown through every era of Spaceflight and has hoisted America on its shoulder. Without it Spaceflight would be a worse place I think.

[@sixstringedthing]

Never lost a payload. I can't think of a single other heavy-lift vehicle about which a similar claim can be made. Apart from Super Heavy, but a Tesla Roadster isn't a very useful payload (except for PR purposes). :)

[@thePronto]

Are you driving a 60 year old car? Until 2014, Indians were buying newly manufactured 60 year old car designs, (Hindustan Ambassador) but only because that was all that was available. Time to move on.

[@thePronto]

@@sixstringedthing 2 launches of FH after the test flight: Arabsat 6a and STP-2 (for DoD). 3 more under contract. But thanks for the gaslighting.

[@christopherrasmussen8718]

I remember the old rocket garden at the Cape. The Atlas were spectacular.

[@odysseusrex5908]

It's still there, isn't it?

[@craigmacdougal9111]

@@odysseusrex5908 Yes, still there. They just added a Delta 2 to the garden.

[@christopherrasmussen8718]

@@odysseusrex5908 What's there today is not what I saw in the 90s. I was lucky to have had a job that got me on CCAFS. The old rocket garden was behind the blockhouse that was from the Mercury era. I was a space buff from when I was a kid and the Moon landings. I knew most of the boosters by name. Thet had all of them laying down, and rotting away. I was not allowed to bring a camera on base. In the 00s or I have pictures. That part was cut off from the tours in the 90s when Space Shuttle got busy. It had been part of the tour for decades before. It all got rebuilt to go with the new visitors center across the street from NASA in the 00s. I call that the Disney land of NASA. So yes it's still there. Just not like it was in the 60-90s.

[@odysseusrex5908]

@@christopherrasmussen8718 I went to KSC once, about 1983, not counting seeing the Apollo 17 launch from across the river. I liked the visitors center they had then. I hope the new one is not as bad as the one here at JSC.

[@reddcube]

Hopefully when these vehicles to stop flying in a few years, Tim Dodd can finally release his Soviet Era rocket engine video.

[@thePronto]

Thankfully, Tim has ditched the Russian spacesuit.

[@lillyanneserrelio2187]

How much are you guys paid to keep spamming Scott's videos with another person's channel?

[@thePronto]

@@lillyanneserrelio2187 Scott posts videos and solicits comment. The 2 comments above are broadly on topic and not remotely offensive. Not sure what you're complaining about? Edit: I get it now. Both comments contain references to Russia, so they must have triggered the IRA bot. Sorry for hurting your feelings, 'Liliya'.

[@spockspock]

I watched a ULA launch a few years back, well.. a scrubbed at the last minute because of a private aircraft in restricted airspace launch. When my wife wondered why I lingered as long as possible and caught me wet eyed, she said - “You really that sad to not see the launch?”. I was in awe of the launch crew loading and the unloading the mighty Atlas with 50 tons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen. It was a phenomenal, successful operation, worthy of awe.

[@normalhuman9260]

I totally get it. I would have teared up myself. It's just so amazing what humans are capable of creating and doing. I get that way sometimes when I look at a power plant,so much plumbing,so many different parts,all working together,its beautiful and awe inspiring to see some of the insane complexities and designs that we have accomplished. To be fair I get that way with some of mother natures creations as well.

[@newguy3588]

That's really interesting to think about. No longer needed for nukes, it's for commercial needs now. Good step forward. Sad to see them go. The Atlas V got us pictures of Pluto it was so powerful.

[@philipgrice1026]

Now Jeff can deliver nukes anywhere in the world by Amazon drones and if the Pentagon has a Prime account delivery is free. We don't need no steenkin' missiles or dildos.

[@jokerace8227]

The manned space program was initially performed on what were essentially modified ICBM nuclear weapon missiles. That's why it's so easy for them to say Iran's space program is just cover for ICBM development.

[@xvor_tex8577]

I love how Scott pronounces Russian names

[@bigpod]

energia was probably the closest i heard on youtube

[@NoxmilesDe]

Why?

[@alexdashwood4976]

He actually speaks very closely to the Russian pronunciations. I really like the way he pronounces "nauka", it was great

[@drzerg2]

@@bigpod he missed stresses. it makes it more unnatural then some sound mistakes. remember kids! stresses are very important in many languages.

[@ilyachaplygin8573]

@@alexdashwood4976 yep, he does an amazing job. On the other hand, english speaking people tend to change stresses. The original versions are: zenIt, soyUz, protOn (that's understandable), enErgia, angarA

[@boyman999]

I don't know why but just having Scott talk about this stuff makes me want to play KSP 😏

[@jblob5764]

I can't wait for KSP 2

[@donkeydunn]

@@jblob5764 Definitely. Just hope they can put in some decent tutorials so that they can teach my friends about orbital mechanics so they can play with me in multiplayer...

[@sixstringedthing]

Every. Damn. Time. :)

[@sebione3576]

Hullo.

[@Ferroes]

Probably the shirt

[@sergeant_salty]

uh oh, Jeff's gonna sue someone

[@CarlLjungquist]

Jeff who 😁

[@Nikenik2001]

Pray that he doesn't figure out that if he sues ULA and bankrupts them he can make a really great quarterly report for Q4 2021 for his "we sell plastic stuff you don't need"-warehouse business .

[@JeffreyBue_imtxsmoke]

I never used to dislike Bezos... never was a hater.. but he's being a total dick right now and deserves all the negative pub he's getting because of these lawsuits.

[@rohitwankhede9153]

@@JeffreyBue_imtxsmoke yup same I thought he was a good and informative guy who made and built Amazon

[@lillyanneserrelio2187]

@@rohitwankhede9153 until his ego or money is threatened, now we see Jeff's true colors. All he's doing is making lawyers (on both sides) rich and slowing down humanity progress into space by jamming up NASA and SpaceX with lawsuits. For those who aren't sympathetic because they dislike SpaceX, consider this: Jeff is only targeting them because they are his only threat. If another rocket company bridges the tech gap and risks overshadowing Blue Origin, they'll feel the wrath of Jeff's lawyers pens too - like NASA did. And maybe even have to deal with his snide Twitter remarks too. And he's still crying over SpaceX permission from the FCC to launch 30,000+ satellites around Earth, taking up the available orbit slots he wanted for himself (when he catches up in 10 years). I'd be on Jeff's side if his protest reason was more altruistic, like space pollution - Obscuring the night sky from star gazing. Or how about the fact that by launching so many satellites into Earth's orbit, we're making future spaceships launches hazardous as they will have to attempt to evade these man-made swarms of thousands upon thousands of "constellation satellites", the countless military, spy, GPS, and defunct satellites, the discarded parts from old launches like multi-stage fairings, booster rings, nuts, bolts, and other miscellaneous debris from the decades of launches undertaken by the countries of the world, all moving at the hull-piercing 17,500 mph...

[@dummyjoe7895]

AtlasV will always be remembered as being a work horse of the space industry. I will miss Atlas so much. 😭

[@Dug6666666]

This is why you are the go to for space engineering news. Top notch information and research. You put the time into finding great on topic archive footage. There are too many channels now that are mostly speculative commentary with a montage of random rocket stock footage and models in lab coats sprayed over the top.

[@antoniomaglione4101]

Thanks for the update Mr. Manley. The RD180 story - to me - sounds like that of the Pagani Zonda (the italian supercar); Pagani kept producing the last Zonda for many years. Unrelated - I like your new outro jingle very much. I am a fan of Jean MIchael Jarre (of "Oxygene" fame) and your new outro reminds me of his fantastic musical style. Thank you, and Regards from the UK...

[@birdbasket]

A bittersweet piece of news. The Atlas V will always be remembered for its capabilities and perfect record.

[@chuck7299]

Judging by the progress of the BE-4 engine, they may want to build a few more...

[@rh9909]

@@steve_wilson Or directly sell F9 flight to their customer...

[@chuck7299]

@@steve_wilson Wrong type of fuel. They'd have to change the tankage for kero/lox or metha/lox for Merlin or Raptor to work. BE-4 uses lng/lox.

[@mlmmt]

@@chuck7299 errr.. what do you thing lng is.... its methane...

[@simongeard4824]

@@RobertLutece909 Well, the government couldn't disallow them from using Raptor... but doing so would make Vulcan ineligible for all the government contracts. Same thing in practice, but the government doesn't dictate design decisions...

[@odysseusrex5908]

@@simongeard4824 Why would using Raptor make Vulcan ineligible for government contracts? As of now, Raptor is not being used on any of them.

[@spaceygamez]

It would’ve been so cool if someone bought an Atlas or delta to put in a museum or rocket garden

[@herbertboelk7545]

If i had the garden and coinage: yes! What about our shiny millio- and billionaires?

[@ishan4763]

Delta 2 is displayed at KSC rocket garden

[@Invaderchaos]

There already is both an atlas and delta rocket at the rocket garden…

[@hagerty1952]

Check out the museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, OH. They have a rotunda with those plus Titans I and II, and others.

[@noahway13]

Let me check my bank account... Let's see, after strippers, massages, nose candy, and the... I'll have to do some calculations. I'll get back with you.

[@user-fr3hy9uh6y]

ULA has bet their future on a competitor. Chances are the engine delay has more to do with prioritising the New Glenn than the engine. Jeff is a heartless business man.

[@terminus.est.]

More like ULA has existed in cartel for so long they forgot how to be competitive. Of course if Bezos actually broke the terms of contract then ULA would probably file suite.

[@lightfox11]

you could say it makes him a heartless business man, but at the end of the day they both wont have rockets

[@mstuhlpfarrer]

i highly doubt that it has to do with prioritising New Glenn as that thing only exits in drawings and since it took them 20 years to get New Shepard to work i wouldn't hold my breath for New Glenn to work any time soon. 20 years and ungodly amounts of money to get a giant penis to go up for a bit isn't really impressive...

[@markriddle3282]

My dad worked on the Atlas in the late 50's and early 60's. Sad to see them go

[@jeffreygunter417]

Scott, as always your content is very detail yet approachable and not over long. As some one very familiar with Atlas and Delta I could not be happier with this summary.

[@someinternetperson]

Sad to see such a beautiful rocket coming to an end :(

[@sergeant_salty]

the Old Faithful of rockets👍🏻 gonna miss that reliability

[@uranus9954]

Besides the SaturnV, F9 and Heavy and Starship( when it flies) this was my favourite rocket. It was just such a trusty good looking launcher. I even have a model of it in my room.

[@jhdsfalsjhdfjashdkhvjfldld8301]

@@uranus9954 F9 is guilty of the desapearing of those rockets

[@topsecret1837]

@@jhdsfalsjhdfjashdkhvjfldld8301 What do people care of an opinion made by a user account with a username that looks like somebody smushed their head into a keyboard?

[@jhdsfalsjhdfjashdkhvjfldld8301]

@@topsecret1837 Indeed, but, am i wrong?

Am I the only one mildly annoyed that it's called united and alliance? Isn't that a bit redundant? Might as well be The United Together Launch Alliance Collaboration...

[@g.f.martianshipyards9328]

...of Friendship.

[@a..d5518]

Lucian Alexandru Moţoc sounds like a name put together by the folks over at The Redundant Department of Redundancy they are Part of The Bureau of Redundancy and Duplicate Redundant Offices

[@TheOwenMajor]

An alliance isn't necessarily United. The two words have different meanings.

[@2KOOLURATOOLGaming]

@@TheOwenMajor United is a synonym of allied though. An alliance must be united otherwise they are not allied with each other. An alliance is united in one or more aspects and or against or for something.

[@2KOOLURATOOLGaming]

@@a..d5518 What does that even mean? A. .D, sounds like a name created by the small office of abbreviating abbreviated names for the duty and sake of department against longer nouns. ???

[@OnionChoppingNinja]

Proton, Atlas, Delta... all going the way of the Titan. But Soyuz lives on! The R7 design will be the Alpha and Omega of orbital rocket launches; the beginning and the end.

[@sudantarescosmonautics9422]

I believe if Sergey Pavlovich Korolev would be still alive, he would be very proud of how far his design went.

[@rohitwankhede9153]

@@sudantarescosmonautics9422 ya agree

[@rohitwankhede9153]

This is kinda a peaceful place in the comment section

[@HalNordmann]

Well, the Russians plan to replace the R7 derivatives for a long time - they just didn't have the money. But it looks like there might be a new vehicle (the Soyuz-5 or Feniks) that has sufficient support to send the R-7 into the (well deserved) retirement.

[@xxxdiresaintxxx]

Always great content. Thanks Scott.

[@kellingc]

I learn so much from your videos. Live your content

[@garyfritz4709]

Definitely the end of an era. I actually worked several Atlas/Centaur launches (in the blockhouse) as a college intern in 1976. Dream job for a 20-year-old space geek.

[@normalhuman9260]

Awesome! From one geek to another I thank you.

[@magnemoe1]

Remember seeing an proton launch here on KZbin and was waiting for the booster separation :)

[@allancopland1768]

Great presentation Scott.

[@duster0669]

Just saying. In the 1980s we found an abandoned Atlas missile silo near our Air Force base in the Pacific Northwest. We had "Guns, Booze, and Bombs" parties down in that hole. We had a HELL OF A GRAND TIME and no one got seriously hurt. There were a few minor injuries though, but no loss of duty time. ROFL

[@alexandertaylor2951]

There was a certain aesthetic attributed to flight at that time. You can see it in everything from the luxurious air travel with PanAm, to the Delta II and it's sleek design. Much the same...the Atlas will be missed! It really is the end of an era. Some would say, the best era

[@ragerancher]

"I've heard this is a management issue rather than a technological issue" So often the case and yet the people who determine what the problems are are often the managers, hence the distorted view of why things go wrong. Golden rule of management, it's never your fault despite the fact you are ultimately supposed to be the one responsible.

[@frankgulla2335]

Scott, and great retrospective of 'cold warr' rockets that are finally being put to pasture. Thanks for the update.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Watching this reminds me of the Sky at Night presented by Sir Patrick Moore. Not because you are like him but that these days we are fortunate to have presenters who really know their stuff and present with passion just like him. Well done and keep it up 👍

[@gbcfan204]

Im kind of sad, but it will be exciting seeing these new rockets launch.

[@CT5555_]

Am I the only one that thinks Vulcan is in a very precarious spot? Signing with Blue origin, is probably getting second guessed about now.

[@mlc4495]

Well Vulcan is already outdated tech and it hasn't even flown yet. The Falcon 9 is able to launch at a much higher cadence and at a lower cost than what the Vulcan can achieve. By the time Vulcan is ready for its first test flight we'll likely have seen Starship perform more than a few orbital launches and landings. The same is true of most other launchers in development. Ariane 6 is a dated vehicle with zero recoverability. Apart from ESA and the EU no European customer is likely to use Ariane 6. SpaceX has completely upended the entire space launch industry in such a rapid timescale. It's quite extraordinary really.

[@joeyknight8272]

@@mlc4495 SpaceX simp lmao

[@DavidSaintloth]

@@joeyknight8272 , but you can't argue against the facts so you bring hollow ad hominem, you're the simp.

[@davisdf3064]

@@joeyknight8272 Although i do understand that he might be giving too much credit for SpaceX, we have to be fair, right now, they are the only ones that are developing the worlds first fully reusable rocket, wich IS the most revolutionary thing a chemical rocket can do.

[@joeyknight8272]

@@DavidSaintloth theres no sense in arguing with them. Ive learned better that arguing with a fool does nothing. But 90% of starship promises aren't gonna happen and not everyone is gonna want to use a starship. So

[@Flubberbutter]

Scott's the best source of news in the commercial space race game.

[@dannydonuts4219]

I watch atlas rocket launches from my driveway in Florida routinely.

[@asmael666]

Well, the most important reason for buying the RD-180 was that after the iron curtain fell, the US wanted to make sure russian rocket engineers don't lose their jobs and start working for iran, north korea or pakistan. this was a highly geopolitical move by the DOD that ULA was pressured into.

[@KrikkitWarlord]

More of a side benefit once they realised what a fantastic engine it was...

[@asmael666]

@@KrikkitWarlord The other way around ...

[@mlc4495]

@@KrikkitWarlord No, it literally was the main reason for purchasing these engines. The US didn't have a problem sourcing domestic engines for the Atlas, the decision to go with Russian engines was to keep them out of the hands of rogue regimes like those mentioned above as well as to provide employment to Russian engineers and scientists. Since the US was just getting ready to start the ISS with Russia they needed a partner that had an actual, viable space launch industry.

[@vk_o2540]

That is the reason Discovery and NatG TV use to say to it's viewers. Of course it's pure propaganda. They bought them to steal/learn the tech for low $, since they couldn't make it. As simple as that.

[@jgottula]

This is my understanding as well. It was part “give these guys something healthy and hopefully not-nuke-related to work on”; and then also part “huh, wow, these guys actually came up with some pretty incredible designs a decently long time ago that we’d all just dismissed as technologically infeasible; that’s pretty amazing, I bet we could make use of those”.

[@JosiahGould]

Through my work with computers years ago, I was fortunate enough to get acquainted with a gentleman who worked on the Delta IV Heavy. He got me a T-Shirt that a bunch of engineers signed. It is put away safely. :)

[@samuellee8018]

Thanks, Scott. Good stuff!

[@sunkid86]

I am constantly amazed by Scott: he had to have held that Soyuz rocket in his hand for a while before saying his closing lines- you need to love that. Also the ever evolving intro and outro animations are always refreshing.

[@Concodroid]

Thanks!

[@thatlegospacefan7315]

I recently went to the national space centre in the uk and saw their Thor rocket there. This is truly the end of a great era for space technologies, but another great era is just beginning…

[@viliamklein]

7 assigned to Starliners? Isn't that optimistic to say the least?

[@aztronomy7457]

you realize boeing and our government jerk each other off in backrooms of government buildings.?

[@MrDJAK777]

6 seems like a good number to keep and put in museums anyway.

[@ArKritz84]

Sure it is, but they can't sell the launches to anyone else because of it.

[@Brixxter]

How is that optimistic? Do you think Starliner isn't going to continue flying? They have a contract you know

[@thePronto]

@@Brixxter launch date? Stuck valves on a spacecraft on the launch pad? Returned to factory for disassembly? 'Real experience'?

[@Calbeck]

Farewell, Atlas. You will live in spacers' legends.

[@WestCoastMole]

More like "Happy Trails RD-180 until we meet again"

[@cogoid]

8:00 Fun fact: the crazy-shaped shrouds on the side boosters of Energia rocket are meant to cover the landing legs -- the boosters were supposed to be reusable, and the engines were actually certified for 10 flights.

[@grexursorum6006]

Exciting things to come. I loved Proton. It's unique look and the hypergols set it apart from other's. Atlas and delta where fantastic rockets. But I will be happy to see them replaced. sojus in the meantime: look at those kids getting old 😅

[@mojeimja]

Mmmm, the smell of UDMH in the launch morning :)

[@GreyDeathVaccine]

@@mojeimja the last scent you will smell LMAO

[@GermanTopGameTV]

At some point the unesco will protect the sojuz as a technological memorial so russia is forced to continue using it.

[@marzipanhuman2356]

@asdrubale bisanzio Soyuz has outlived worse times)

[@lennartkienle5157]

@asdrubale bisanzio shit you’re right 😅

[@noop9k]

@@marzipanhuman2356 Well, during Yeltsin USA was helping with money significantly.

[@simongeard4824]

@@marzipanhuman2356 It isn't quite old enough to remember Stalin, but it's close... design on the R7 began the same year he died...

[@HalNordmann]

Well, the Russians plan to replace the R7 derivatives for a long time - they just didn't have the money. But it looks like there might be a new vehicle (the Soyuz-5 or Feniks) that has sufficient support to send the R-7 into the (well deserved) retirement.

[@kenhelmers2603]

Wow. Thanks Scott!

[@happymann1000]

Love the new outro...Very well done

[@faithnfire4769]

I got to talk with a couple of the engineers working on and testing those Blue Origin Engines. It's a beautiful location, if desolate, must be one heck of a place to work. At one point in the conversation they even mentioned that one of their big goals was to finally, properly, best those Russian engines, given how ahead of the time they were in that field. They were confident that they would, (and I think in a teststand setting might already have?) here's hoping the company starts getting their ducks in a row for these new rockets!

[@rodanderson8490]

I thought one of the reasons Blue Origin built their BE-4 rocket engine factory in Huntsville, AL was so they could use the rocket engine test facilities located there at Marshall Space Center -- where the engines for the first stage of the Saturn V were tested.

[@msudawg1997]

@@rodanderson8490 sort of true. It's actually the stand where the full Saturn V first stage was tested. The test stand is currently being modified / upgraded by BO for testing engines. Coincidentally this is also a location that performed tests on the RD180 during Atlas V development. I'm about 95% confident that the pic shown at 4:15 is in that same test stand.

[@nicholasmaude6906]

Lockheed-Martin could always contract Aerojet-Rocketdyne to finish development of their AR1 rocket-motor and replace the RD-180 with it. As for Rocketdyne not putting the RD-180 into licence production that was incredibly short-sighted.

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

Rocketdyne did not have the RD-180 licence... it was Pratt & Whitney / UTC who formed a joint US / Russian company RD Amross to develop certify and supply the engine exclusively to LM for the Atlas V... but cheaper Russian production and lack of motivation / incentive meant they never bothered to produce it in the US. Orbital tried to sue ULA to be able to use the RD-180 for the upgraded Antares but instead had to use a pair of RD-181s... the export version of the RD-191 (Angara).

[@nicholasmaude6906]

@@johnmoruzzi7236 I stand corrected, for some reason I thought it was Rocketdyne that had the licence.

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

Rocketdyne later became part of P&W / UTC, later Boeing and then GenCorp / Aerojet. Now AJR is owned by Lockeed Martin, but RD Amross is still an oddity owned by UTC / Russia. It remains to be seen if the RD-180 will migrate to another rocket... nothing springs to mind at the moment.

[@odysseusrex5908]

@@johnmoruzzi7236 My understanding is that the LockMart AJR merger is still awaiting regulatory approval. There are concerns about AJR merging with one of their customers, who are competitors with their other customers.

[@msudawg1997]

@@johnmoruzzi7236 minor correction- Rocketdyne was actually owned by Boeing prior to being bought by UTC

[@Paul_Ch52]

Deep tech, deep geek. Good show. Lovin your closing graphics.

[@firehawk128]

Wow, I had no idea that they were still using these rockets. Amazing.

[@ronauvil5118]

Scott, I'm excited about the Vulcan, but concerned about lack of progress re the BE-4 engine. What do you think?

[@gasdive]

I'm pretty sure they can sue it into existence.

[@stever285]

They need to float some rumours that they're looking at switching to Merlins, see how quickly Blue Origin gets it's finger out.

[@theOrionsarms]

@@stever285 Vulcan have a methalox first stage(so Merlin engines wouldn't work, also current raptor are to weak to be used in the dual configuration), but eventually they could buy new raptor2 engine , at 2,3 MN would be almost as good as 2,4 MN BE-4.

[@thePronto]

Elon should get an Amazon vendor account and post a couple of Raptors for sale.

[@Veptis]

Can't wait for Tim Dodd to finish the 3 hour epos on Soviet rocket engines and where they all ended up.

[@lillyanneserrelio2187]

How much are you guys paid to keep spamming Scott's videos with another person's channel?

[@theinterfaithshepherd9075]

Where do you get all your awesome footage?! Great job!

[@dankerman321]

Thanks Scott for using the word "regardless".

[@Sir_Uncle_Ned]

You really gotta hand it to the Soviets. When they got it right, they REALLY got it right. It’s a shame to see the workhorses retire. Hopefully new rockets can pick up the baton

[@zapfanzapfan]

Korolev was a genius designer, next year will be 65 years since R7.

[@menguardingtheirownwallets6791]

Fun fact: WD-40 stands for 'Water-Displacement formulae #40' = which is used to keep ice from 'sticking' to the liquid-oxygen tanks after launch. They need to get all of that weight off if the rocket is going to be able to fly, so WD-40 was created. It is not a lubricant. For that, use silicone-lube instead.

[@evrydayamerican]

That outro is awesome

[@thomasjwynn]

At the end of the Cold War, when the US government didn’t want the Russian rocket scientists wondering off to places like North Korea, they were asked if they could use the RD180 engine, and they said yes and it was put onto the Atlas. It was a strategic decision at the time. At the time it was the highest performing engine of that class that would be appropriate for a booster that was available. And because the state department wanted that as an element of their diplomacy with the now former Soviet Union they were asked to use it and were happy to do so.

[@ElSelcho77]

Does this mean, that Jeff needs to ask Elon very nicely to get Kuiper into orbit after these things stop flying?

[@captainwolf5922]

No, the very first article shown states that ULA will transition to selling a new rocket called the Vulcan

[@mikemullen8174]

@@captainwolf5922 Which is utterly dependent on the delivery of BE4 engines from Blue Origin that have been repeatedly delayed.

[@jip5889]

I’d love to get a bcc of that email traffic.

[@topsecret1837]

Does it not occur to you that Amazon deliberately bought Atlas V launches to force companies to use a rocket that is powered by the engines from their sister company?

[@jip5889]

@@topsecret1837 well it definitely does not surprise me but yeah.

[@IanZainea1990]

Space Phase I comes to an end in the 2020s. I do hope that the Soyuz continues, I know there are aspects that could be improved upon, but dang what a rocket platform! Such heritage!

[@rohitwankhede9153]

Soyuz is like qween in the rocket industry

[@mattcolver1]

I feel fortunate that I've been able to witness, Delta II, Delta III, Delta IV, and Atlas V launches.

[@msmirandagirl]

I watched a Gemini Titan launch from Cape Canaveral. Great memory.

[@LazyLifeIFreak]

So for a how long do we have to wait till the RD180 engines start going into production?

[@nunyabusiness8538]

nobody left from that era and nobody has that knowledge. those original fabricators pretty much hand built and hand tuned every engine with insane perseverance

[@LazyLifeIFreak]

@@nunyabusiness8538 Damn, that's a pity.

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

@@nunyabusiness8538 I can see SpaceX selling surplus untested/untuned raptors.

[@mlc4495]

@@paulmichaelfreedman8334 ULA would be too damn proud to take them, even if Elon offered them for free.

[@denysvlasenko1865]

@@nunyabusiness8538 > nobody left from that era and nobody has that knowledge. Incorrect. For one, RD-181 is in production right now, for Antares.

[@user-yx8tn8ls5u]

Rather to the contrary, Zenith was the highly automated replacement to the Soyuz/Molniya/whatever other fancy name for R-7. And they decided to use it instead of Shuttle style SRB on Buran because it was already in development. It was a very good rocket on its own potentially but the collapse of the USSR buried it since the production chain ended up being in several independent countries that could not make an agreement on how to split the profits. You mentioned Antares, which has more than just engines with Zenit's heritage, it has a lot of other systems built by other enterprises that use to build Zenith. It's the most "Zenith-derived" rocket in existence today. (although it was less so when used old NK-33s that took one of the rockets with them as they exploded) Russia didn't want Soyuz and Proton replaced by Angara because they are not manufactured by Russia. Both vehicles are manufactured solely by Russia today. But Soyuz has the problem of being very old design (derived from the rocket that launched the Sputnik that is), built for the usage from Kazakh cosmodrome in Baikonur. As well the payload it could take to the orbit is not that great. Proton uses toxix fuels that even in Russia are considered a faux pas nowadays (paired with launches from Kazakhstan and the public backlash there it makes it unviable). The main cause of the delays in the Angara development and usage is that Russians managed to find different arrangements a using the launchpad in French Guyana for Soyuz rockets, building pads in their own territory for Protons etc. P.S. About the cold war Proton and a shelf life -- largely unified with it UR-100N, a third modernization of the UR-100, NATO code SS-19 (Proton is UR-500 as you know) is still used as an ICBM by Russia and is integrated with their newest systems. Speaking about the shelf life =)

[@RCAvhstape]

I want to recommend the book "Atlas: The Ultimate Weapon" for anyone who wants a good history of the Atlas program from the 1950s up to about 2005 when the first Atlas V's were built. I love that the old Atlas program logo is still on the side of every launch vehicle. Convair, Martin, Lockheed Martin, and finally ULA, the program endures.

[@regulatormachine2788]

sure, you can go ahead and recommend that book if you want

[@RCAvhstape]

@@regulatormachine2788 Well, okay, I will then. And I'll keep your five bucks, then, too.

[@MarsChroniken]

looooove your Videos!!!! ❤❤❤🚀🚀🚀

[@joseacuna3239]

I’m impressed about soyus, being so reliable thru all of these years

[@thehandlesticks66]

high soviet engineering

[@GowthamNatarajanAI]

Soyuz 97.5% success rate. Atlas is 100%

[@juanpablovaca-lago5659]

End of an era but the begging of a new exiting one. It was time to start retiring them.

[@bjmurrey]

fascinating and mind blowing!

[@nanu8547]

Atlas and delta have some great achivements

[@christopherbeen2358]

Will Kennedy space center add an Atlas V to the rocket garden?

[@iamarokotmanson]

Hopefully

[@jeffharper4509]

They should!

[@RCAvhstape]

It depends on how many test articles are left when the program ends. Nobody builds flight hardware just to donate it to museums; if they can earn revenue with it they'll expend it.

[@WestCoastMole]

What mix of fertilizer will it need ?

[@christopherbeen2358]

@@WestCoastMole Perhaps it’s fuel and oxidizer 🤔

[@DividedWeFall]

Want to know what is like to have a few drinks with Scott? Set payback to 0.75x xD

[@JeffreyBue_imtxsmoke]

dude... that's pretty funny

[@Tuglife912]

My buddy Paul Kirk that's the Lead 2nd Stage and Payload Integration Technician at United Launch Alliance ( ULA ) said that the Atlas V Rockets will continue to fly until the last ones are Expended. They would only keep a few for displays like the one at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex Rocket Garden. They will continue to fly the Atlas V even when the Vulcan comes online. The will fly them until they are all expended and later Vulcan will take over. The Russian RD-180 Main Engine will no longer be produced under license in the United States. That's what's going on according to Paul at ULA! Also as you said the Delta IV-Heavy will also unfortunately retire too in the near future and Vulcan Heavy will take its place. I love Atlas V and Delta IV-Heavy and I hate to see them retire, just like Delta IV Medium, Delta III, Delta II, Titan IVB, Titan IVA, Titan IIIC, Atlas II, and My Space Shuttle Orbiters of STS ( Space Transportation System ). Awesome video! 🇺🇸🚀🛰

[@nasahistorian8639]

Hopefully there will be another Atlas iteration in the future, thank you Atlas v

[@CalvinMaclure]

I was certainly sad when ULA retired Delta II, cause let's face it, that thing is awesome. But the Atlas?? THAT thing is the stuff of legends. Long may you run, fair maiden... long may you run.

[@Blubb5000]

Scott, I'm missing your old (and much better) theme music.

[@trevortaylor5501]

Test on the Rd 171MV were started in March 2021. That's going to be a interesting development.

[@rolfjacobson833]

thanks

[@06racing]

Love that Jeffrey can't get his rockets from A to Z.

[@jadegecko]

"Atlas and Delta are like my right and left arms," said Li'l Spicy, in his famous "Let's see how many Scott Manley fans are also Homestar Runner fans" speech

[@jaredhenderson6163]

I doubt it. I drove.

[@jadegecko]

@@jaredhenderson6163 You don't own a car!!

[@SteakSawSr]

The outro is 🔥🔥🔥

[@TheMemeDynamics]

The end of a decade is here. Sad to see the Atlas and the Delta family going away. I wish the dude who did the narrator for the STS-135 mission did the narration for the last flight of the Atlas and the Delta rockets.

[@ProfesorBerziky]

Will future Starliner missions be flown on the Vulcan?

[@coffeespy1133]

If needed yes

[@fabiosemino2214]

Ironically, by requirements, Starliner should be able to fly also on the falcon 9

[@jhdsfalsjhdfjashdkhvjfldld8301]

@@fabiosemino2214 Falcon 9 is overrated

[@RCAvhstape]

@@jhdsfalsjhdfjashdkhvjfldld8301 Explain. Please cite facts and numbers.

[@WestCoastMole]

Yes Starliner is designed for Vulcan. The only reason the first few are fly on RD-180 powered Atlas-Vs has a Human Rating.

[@jrb_sland5066]

Now we await the first launch of Spacex's BFR. Who needs ULA & single-use rockets? Who can afford them? When do they ever learn? Spacex is about to demonstrate the 10th {or is it the 11th ?} launch of a gently used, tried & trusted Falcon 9, and recover that booster for another Starlink launch. Cheaper by the dozen...

[@NPCRAFT-ll9to]

When SpaceX actually deliveres on their promises concerning Starships capabilities, price and rapid reusability, then it really is game over for every other company with larger launchers. Government/military payloads are still a task for ULA & co though, I suppose

[@vladimirdyuzhev]

... and bunkrupt SpaceX in the process.

[@NPCRAFT-ll9to]

@@vladimirdyuzhev That is more than unlikely. With the Falcon 9 alone they have a launcher, that is more cost efficient than any other launcher on the planet and thus a huge demand for it - that plus some juicy gov. contracts will ensure a steady flow of money for the foreseeable future

[@vladimirdyuzhev]

@@NPCRAFT-ll9to Estimate the total cost of launching all starlink sats even at 20mln per launch. The cost of launches alone would eat the whole annual revenue of SpaceX. Now add the cost of sats, salaries, phased array antennas (even at mass production costing way over 500)... Without gov funding it will just eat up all the cash SpaceX has.

[@jocramkrispy305]

@@vladimirdyuzhev People love to throw money at Elon Musk's companies

[@goobster6257]

Really dig the outro

[@owenkegg5608]

Damn. That's crazy to think about.

[@dewayneblue1834]

Maybe they should wait until Bezos actually starts delivering full sets of flight engines for Vulcan? I mean, the guy seems to be very focused on lawsuits, so who knows what's going on with the engines...

[@lightfox11]

naw spacex will pick up the lack

[@wojciechstumpf8414]

Litigation as a business model has worked for some.. Think Microsoft..

[@ThatGuy-sd3zl]

“9 of them will be launching project kuiper for Amazon”. Hmm… I wonder why? I thought Bezos builds rocke… nvm.

[@gabrieldoudna6570]

Blue Origin = meme

[@mikicerise6250]

Not even he believes that. 🤣

[@Xatzimi]

New Glenn isn't ready yet

[@lukephillips5618]

Who builds rockets?

[@simonm1447]

Bezos has no flightready orbital rocket now, and New Glenn will still take some time to get finished

[@joshuataylor783]

Love the videos do miss your old intro/exit clips tho.

[@patreekotime4578]

An interesting video would be an overview of the rockets currently in use and a comparison to the ones in development.