Atlas V is United Launch Alliance's modular expendable launch vehicle for national-security, civil, scientific, crewed, and commercial orbital missions. The system combines a common core booster, Centaur upper stage, optional solid rocket boosters, and fairing or Starliner-specific configurations rather than serving as a direct battlefield weapon.
Atlas V configuration numbers identify the fairing class, solid-rocket-booster count, and Centaur engine count. ULA also uses the N22 designation for the Starliner crew-capsule configuration without a payload fairing.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Atlas V 401 | Four-meter fairing, no solid rocket boosters, single-engine Centaur | ULA's performance table lists the 401 baseline among the 400-series configurations, and the launch-history sources identify the first Atlas V mission as AV-001. Sources: Atlas V Rocket, Atlas V Inaugural Flight |
| Atlas V 531 | Five-meter fairing, three solid rocket boosters, single-engine Centaur | NROL-101 used the 531 configuration and marked the first Atlas V mission with Northrop Grumman GEM 63 boosters. Sources: NROL-101 Launch |
| Atlas V 551 | Five-meter fairing, five solid rocket boosters, single-engine Centaur | ULA listed SILENTBARKER/NROL-107 as an Atlas V 551 launch and described five GEM 63 boosters augmenting the first stage. Sources: SILENTBARKER NROL-107 Stacking |
| Atlas V N22 | Starliner crew-capsule configuration | ULA describes N22 as a Starliner-specific configuration with no payload fairing, two solid rocket boosters, dual-engine Centaur, a launch vehicle adapter, aeroskirt, and emergency detection system. Sources: Atlas V Starliner CFT, Atlas V Primed for Human Launch |
Atlas V is included here as a relationship-only space-launch system because it carried military and national-security support payloads rather than operating as a weapon in a named conflict.
| Launched item | Item type | Launch evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Missile-warning satellite constellation | ULA reports Atlas V launches for SBIRS GEO Flight 5 and SBIRS GEO 6, tying the launch vehicle to the U.S. Space Force missile-warning constellation represented in the catalog. Sources: SBIRS GEO Flight 5 Launch, Atlas V Missions |
 | Narrowband military satellite communications system | U.S. Space Force and ULA sources document Atlas V launches of MUOS satellites, including MUOS-1 and MUOS-2, for military beyond-line-of-sight communications. Sources: 45th Space Wing MUOS-1 Launch, ULA Atlas V MUOS-2 Mission |
Atlas V's public configuration system makes the vehicle easy to read across mission types: the first character identifies the fairing class, the second identifies the number of solid rocket boosters, and the third identifies the Centaur engine count. ULA's Starliner material separates the crew-capsule N22 configuration because the spacecraft itself replaces the payload fairing.
One RD-180-powered common core booster provides the first-stage liquid propulsion.
Atlas V 400-series missions can use up to three solid rocket boosters; 500-series missions can use up to five.
Centaur uses RL10 liquid-hydrogen/liquid-oxygen propulsion and can be configured with one or two engines.
Lockheed Martin announced AV-001 as the first Atlas V mission, carrying the HOT BIRD 6 communications satellite from Cape Canaveral.
Sources: Atlas V Inaugural Flight
Lockheed Martin's ULA startup release says the new company combined the Atlas and Delta rocket programs for U.S. government space missions.
Sources: ULA Begins Operations
ULA reported that NROL-101 was the first Atlas V launch to fly Northrop Grumman GEM 63 solid rocket boosters.
Sources: NROL-101 Launch
ULA reported an Atlas V launch of the fifth SBIRS geosynchronous missile-warning satellite for the U.S. Space Force.
Sources: SBIRS GEO Flight 5 Launch
ULA's Starliner CFT mission page records Atlas V launching NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard Boeing Starliner from Space Launch Complex-41.
Sources: Atlas V Starliner CFT
ULA's Atlas V mission index listed Atlas V Leo 8 on July 2, 2026, showing the vehicle still active in the public launch catalog.
Sources: Atlas V Missions
Atlas V supported U.S. national-security space missions alongside NASA, science, crewed, and commercial launches. Public ULA mission pages document Atlas V launches for the National Reconnaissance Office, Space Force missile-warning satellites, space-domain-awareness payloads, and other government missions, while many payload details remain intentionally limited in public releases.
