American ICBM-derived orbital rocket

Atlas V is ULA's medium-lift workhorse, flying since 2002 on the strength of a Russian RD-180 engine — a design choice that became politically awkward after 2022. The vehicle is being retired: its last launch for a customer other than Boeing, a batch of Amazon Leo broadband satellites, flew in July 2026, and the rockets still in stock are all reserved for Starliner. Vulcan takes over from here.