Alan W. Dowd is a Senior Fellow with the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes on the full range of topics relating to national defense, foreign policy and international security. Dowd’s commentaries and essays have appeared in Policy Review, Parameters, Military Officer, The American Legion Magazine, The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, The Claremont Review of Books, World Politics Review, The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Jerusalem Post, The Financial Times Deutschland, The Washington Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Examiner, The Detroit News, The Sacramento Bee, The Vancouver Sun, The National Post, The Landing Zone, Current, The World & I, The American Enterprise, Fraser Forum, American Outlook, The American and the online editions of Weekly Standard, National Review and American Interest. Beyond his work in opinion journalism, Dowd has served as an adjunct professor and university lecturer; congressional aide; and administrator, researcher and writer at leading think tanks, including the Hudson Institute, Sagamore Institute and Fraser Institute. An award-winning writer, Dowd has been interviewed by Fox News Channel, Cox News Service, The Washington Times, The National Post, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and numerous radio programs across North America. In addition, his work has been quoted by and/or reprinted in The Guardian, CBS News, BBC News and the Council on Foreign Relations. Dowd holds degrees from Butler University and Indiana University. Follow him at twitter.com/alanwdowd.

ASCF News

Scott Tilley is a Senior Fellow at the American Security Council Foundation, where he writes the “Technical Power” column, focusing on the societal and national security implications of advanced technology in cybersecurity, space, and foreign relations.

He is an emeritus professor at the Florida Institute of Technology. Previously, he was with the University of California, Riverside, Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, and IBM. His research and teaching were in the areas of computer science, software & systems engineering, educational technology, the design of communication, and business information systems.

He is president and founder of the Center for Technology & Society, president and co-founder of Big Data Florida, past president of INCOSE Space Coast, and a Space Coast Writers’ Guild Fellow.

He has authored over 150 academic papers and has published 28 books (technical and non-technical), most recently Systems Analysis & Design (Cengage, 2020), SPACE (Anthology Alliance, 2019), and Technical Justice (CTS Press, 2019). He wrote the “Technology Today” column for FLORIDA TODAY from 2010 to 2018.

He is a popular public speaker, having delivered numerous keynote presentations and “Tech Talks” for a general audience. Recent examples include the role of big data in the space program, a four-part series on machine learning, and a four-part series on fake news.

He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Victoria (1995).

Contact him at stilley@cts.today.

United Launch Alliance: Combining the forces of two aerospace giants

Friday, December 11, 2020

Categories: ASCF News Bipartisianship Missile Defense

Comments: 0

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a joint venture between private space companies Lockheed Martin and Boeing that provides launch vehicles to NASA, the Department of Defense and other organizations. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, ULA's rockets are among the largest and most powerful in the industry. 

ULA was formed in 2006, and has since successfully delivered more than 100 satellites to orbit using the Atlas and Delta families of rockets, according to Boeing. The satellites help perform weather monitoring, Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation and aid in scientific research. 

Lockheed Martin and Boeing are two aerospace companies that had previously been competitors for launch services to the U.S. government. The two companies joined in an equal partnership to form ULA in an effort to reduce costs, Spaceflight Now reported. The venture was started in response to Elon Musk's SpaceX, which had been undercutting its competitor's prices by developing reusable rockets. 

SpaceX and ULA are now each other's main competitors for government launches, each having secured contracts for both scientific and national security missions. Musk has famously disparaged ULA in public, as recently as August 2020, tweeting that their rockets are "a complete waste of taxpayer money," CNBC reported

ULA's rockets

ULA's line of rockets include the expendable Atlas VDelta IV Heavy and the Vulcan Centaur, which is still under development. 

Related: 'Behold Vulcan': Next generation rocket unveiled by United Launch Alliance

The Atlas rocket family has been a part of the military and aerospace industries' arsenal since the 1950s. The latest version, the Atlas V is often used to launch interplanetary missions and bring cargo to the International Space Station. It can carry up to 45,240 lbs. (20,520 kilograms) to low Earth orbit and 19,620 lbs. (8,900 kg) to higher orbits. 

The Delta rocket family also stretches back to the early days of the Cold War space race. Its current workhorse is the Delta IV Heavy, which was the world's most powerful operational launch vehicle until 2018, when its title was snatched by SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. The Delta IV Heavy can take 62,540 lbs. (28,370 kg) to low Earth orbit and 30,440 lbs. (13,810 kg) beyond. 

When it becomes operational, Centaur will be able to launch 60,000 lbs. (27,200 kg) to low Earth orbit and 31,700 lbs. (14,400 kg) beyond, according to ULA. The Vulcan Centaur's maiden launch is expected in 2021, when it intends to send private space company Astrobotic's lunar lander to the moon. 

What has ULA launched? 

Here are some of ULA's most famous launches:

The Curiosity rover lifted off for Mars on an Atlas V on Nov. 26, 2011. Curiosity has rolled over the Red Planet's surface since 2012, discovering ample evidence that it was once warm and wet.The Juno spacecraft started its journey to Jupiter from an Atlas V on Aug. 5, 2011. The spacecraft is currently in orbit around the gas giant and has given researchers great insights into the planet's weather and interior.Other Atlas V space missions include OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer), which successfully sampled asteroid Bennu in October 2020, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Mars InSight lander.Delta IV Heavy has mainly carried classified military missions since its debut in 2004. It has also launched the Orion capsule, which is expected to one day carry NASA astronauts. The Parker Solar Probe launched using Delta IV Heavy on Aug. 12, 2018. It has since flown extremely close to the sun and helped scientists better understand solar wind.

Photo: A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying the classified NROL-71 spy satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office launches toward space from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on Jan. 19, 2019.(Image: © United Launch Alliance)

Link: https://www.space.com/united-launch-alliance.html

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