text: Atlas V The Atlas V, currently in service, was developed by Lockheed Martin as part of the US Air Force Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The first was launched on August 21, 2002. In 2006, operation was transferred to United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Lockheed Martin continued to market the Atlas V to commercial customers until September 2021, when it announced that the rocket will be retired after fulfilling the remaining 29 launch contracts. Atlas V is built in Decatur, Alabama, and maintains two launch sites: Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Space Launch Complex 3-E at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
  The Atlas V's first stage is called the Common Core Booster (CCB), which continues to use the Energomash RD-180 introduced in the Atlas III, but employs a rigid framework instead of balloon tanks. The rigid fuselage is heavier, but easier to handle and transport, eliminating the need for constant internal pressure. Up to five Aerojet Rocketdyne strap-on solid rocket boosters can be used to augment first stage thrust. The upper stage remains the Centaur, powered by a single or dual Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engines.
  RD-180 phaseout
  In 2014, US Congress passed legislation restricting the purchase and use of the Russian-supplied RD-180 engine used on the first stage booster of the Atlas V. Formal study contracts were issued in June 2014 to a number of US rocket engine suppliers.