DECATUR – Governor Robert Bentley visited America’s largest manufacturer of space launch vehicles, United Launch Alliance (ULA) in Decatur yesterday. He came to the gargantuan facility to congratulate the employees there for building 300 rockets since 2008… Every rocket had a successful launch.
ULA’s website points out that it is an amalgamation of 2 giants in the aerospace industry, “ULA is a 50-50 joint venture between Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company formed in 2006 to provide reliable, cost-efficient access to space for U.S. government missions. United Launch Alliance brings together two of the launch industry’s most experienced and successful teams—Atlas and Delta—that have supported America’s presence in space for more than 50 years.”
One of the cavernous assembly areas of Decatur, Alabama ULA assembly complex. Alabama Governor Robert Bentley came to the facility to congratulate the ULA employees for 300 completed rockets.
Readers who are interested in seeing a product of ULA may watch this video of the launch of Orion EFT-1 on Delta IV Heavy. The Orion looks similar to the old Apollo moon capsule, but is state-of-the-art in every way. It will carry 6 astronauts to places such as a captured asteroid or within reach of Mars. The launch of the Delta Heavy took place in December 2014. The first manned flight is to take place around 2020.
[youtube https://youtu.be/u-iFUj7Jro4]
