Tag: Air Force
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‘Big step for Israel’: SpaceX launches lunar lander along with high-flying satellites
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launches Indonesia’s Nusantara Satu telecommunications satellite as well as the Israeli Beresheet lunar lander and an Air Force research satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (SpaceX via YouTube) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sent the Israeli-made Beresheet lunar lander on the first leg of its journey to the…
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President Trump signs directive to create new Space Force under the Air Force’s wing
Vice President Mike Pence makes comments at an Oval Office signing ceremony for Space Policy Directive 4, alongside President Donald Trump and officials including Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan, Air Force Gen. Paul Selva and Susan Gordon, principal deputy director of national intelligence. (White House Photo) WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald…
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After four delays, SpaceX launches Air Force’s first next-gen GPS III satellite
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (SpaceX via YouTube) SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sent a next-generation GPS satellite into orbit today for the U.S. Air Force, marking a couple of firsts — as well as a “last.” It’s the first GPS III spacecraft to reach space, marking the…
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SpaceX wins $28.7M contract from Air Force for data connectivity research
SpaceX’s plan for global broadband satellite coverage calls for using sets of satellites orbiting at different altitudes. (PatentYogi via YouTube) SpaceX has won a $28.7 million fixed-price contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory for experiments in data connectivity involving ground sites, aircraft and space assets — a project that could give a boost to the…
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Trump authorizes revival of U.S. Space Command, with Space Force on agenda
Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. (White House via YouTube) President Donald Trump today authorized the Pentagon to set up the U.S. Space Command as its own combatant command, in preparation for creating a Space Force as a separate branch of the military. The authorization for the Space Command came…
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Air Force sets up $100,000 VQ-Prize contest for space awareness visualization
The VQ-Prize aims to boost the development of new visualization tools for space situational awareness. (Air Force Space Command via YouTube) The U.S. Air Force is looking for a few good apps to visualize satellites and other objects in Earth orbit — and it’s willing to pay $100,000 in prizes for them. That’s the bottom line…
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Jeff Bezos sells the Air Force on Blue Origin rockets and Amazon Web Services
Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, chats with retired Air Force Gen. Larry Spencer at the Air Force Association’s annual conference at National Harbor, Md. Billionaire Jeff Bezos made a subtle sales pitch for Amazon Web Services as well as the New Glenn rockets being built by his Blue Origin space…
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Transcript: ‘Chief slowdown officer’ Jeff Bezos shares Amazon management tips
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks at the 2018 Air, Space and Cyber Conference in Maryland. (DVIDS / DOD) When Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos spoke today at the Air Force Association’s 2018 Air, Space and Cyber Conference, his head wasn’t just up in the clouds. To be sure, he devoted a lot of attention to his…
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SpaceX wins $130 million Air Force launch contract, marking a first for Falcon Heavy
An automated camera documents the Falcon Heavy rocket’s first ascent from Kennedy Space Center in February with SpaceX’s hangar in the foreground. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota) The U.S. Air Force has awarded a $130 million firm-fixed-price contract to SpaceX for the launch of its classified AFSPC-52 satellite on a Falcon Heavy rocket. It’s the…
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Did NASA pass up SpaceX offer for Falcon Heavy payload? Former NASA official raises questions
Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver hears from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. (Lori Garver via Twitter) SpaceX CEO Elon Musk makes it sound as if he always wanted to put a Tesla Roadster, and not much else, on top of the Falcon Heavy rocket for this week’s historic maiden launch. But NASA’s former deputy administrator,…