rideshare capabilities
Low-cost Access to space
Rideshare capabilities
United Launch Alliance (ULA) offers a range of rideshare
capabilities that can be used to launch auxiliary, secondary
and dual-manifest payloads to all orbits aboard its Atlas V,
Delta IV and Vulcan Centaur launch vehicles. Rideshare is a
flight-proven innovative approach that provides customers a
low-cost way to achieve various mission objectives without the
need for a dedicated launch service. The cost-savings realized
by sharing a ride with other spacecraft can now be applied to
the payload, which allows for more capability to be delivered
to orbit.
The solutions supplied by ULA meet a full range of mass and
volume requirements, from the smallest secondary payloads to
the largest dual-manifest spacecraft. Experienced in launching
past rideshare missions for the U.S. Air Force, the National
Reconnaissance Office, NASA and commercial customers, ULA
balances technical requirements with customer needs in order
to achieve 100% mission success for the primary payload and
rideshare customer.
Rideshare: the sharing of a launch service by two or more spacecraft by using
the available performance and volume margin that would otherwise go unused by the
launch vehicle; this provides the spacecraft community with an inexpensive way to get
their payloads to space reliably, efficiently and in a timely manner.
Aft Bulkhead Carrier (ABC)
EELV Secondary Payload Adapter
(ESPA)
Dual Spacecraft System (DSS)
Interface located at the aft-end of the
Atlas V Centaur second-stage
Adapter located between the second-stage
and the primary payload
Load-bearing separating canister supporting
upper payload and enclosing lower payload
Payload Class
Cubesat
Payload Class
CubeSat to SmallSat
Payload Class
Large Secondaries to Primary Payloads
Capacity
24U CubeSats
Capacity
6 payload modules per ESPA ring
Capacity
2 payloads within 5-meter payload fairing
Interface
4 x 6U CubeSat dispenser
Interface
15-in bolted interface
Interface
62-in bolted
Mass
80 kg (176 lb)
Mass
181 kg (400 lb)
5M PLF Mass
Volume
51 cm x 51 cm x 86 cm (20 in x 20 in x 34 in)
Forward Payload: 5,440 kg (12,000 lb)
Aft Payload: 9,000 kg (19,800 lb)
Volume
61 cm x 71 cm x 96 cm (24 in x 28 in x 38 in)
5M PLF Volume
Forward Payload: 457-cm-dia. x 762 cm
(180-in-dia. x 300 in)
Aft Payload:
375-cm-dia. x 487 cm
(148-in-dia. x 192 in)
NOTE: 1U = 4 x 4 x 4 inch cubed
For 4-meter payload fairing mass and volume parameters as well as other rideshare options,
please contact [email protected].
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