Rocket file · LV-27
Atlas V 551
Atlas V 551 is an expendable launch vehicle built by United Launch Alliance. It stands 59.7 m tall, lifts 18,850 kg to low Earth orbit, first flew on 19 January 2006. It has flown 23 times with 23 successes, a success rate of 100.0%. It has nothing on the Launch Library 2 schedule right now.
Specification
Vehicle spec sheet
As listed by Launch Library 2. The cost is Launch Library’s figure, not a quoted price. Figures for rockets outside the sixty most-flown were last read on 2026-11-05.
Flight record
Reliability
About Atlas V 551
Atlas V is an expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. It was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin and is now operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture with Boeing. Each Atlas V rocket uses a Russian-built RD-180 engine burning kerosene and liquid oxygen to power its first stage and an American-built RL10 engine burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to power its Centaur upper stage. The RD-180 engines are provided by RD Amross, while Aerojet Rocketdyne provides both the RL10 engines and the strap-on boosters used in some configurations. The standard payload fairing sizes are 4 or 5 meters in diameter and of various lengths. Fairings sizes as large as 7.2 m in diameter and up to 32.3 m in length have been considered. The rocket is assembled in Decatur, Alabama and Harlingen, Texas.
Upcoming flights
Manifest
Atlas V 551 is retired, and no flight is filed.
All upcoming launchesAtlas V 551 in the archive
From NASA's public image library and Wikimedia Commons. Each photo shows the credit its licence asks for and links back to where it came from.
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Common questions
- How many times has Atlas V 551 flown?
- 23 times, with 23 successes and 0 failures.
- What is Atlas V 551's success rate?
- 100.0%. That's 23 successful flights out of 23 attempts.
- How much can Atlas V 551 lift to orbit?
- Launch Library 2 lists Atlas V 551 at 18,850 kg to low Earth orbit and 8,890 kg to geostationary transfer orbit.
- Is Atlas V 551 reusable?
- No. Launch Library 2 lists Atlas V 551 as expendable, so no stage is recovered to fly again.