Tag: Air Force
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SpaceX launches Air Force’s secret X-37B space plane as Hurricane Irma nears
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A, sending the Air Force’s X-37B space plane into space. (SpaceX via YouTube) SpaceX launched the Air Force’s X-37B robotic space plane on its latest months-long, classified mission today – marking another first for the company, with an oncoming hurricane adding to the pressure.…
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Air Force secretary hints at military space applications for Stratolaunch super-plane
Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson chats with Stratolaunch CEO Jean Floyd (left) at the company’s hangar in Mojave, Calif. The twin-tailed airplane is behind them. (Heather Wilson via Twitter) Stratolaunch, the six-year-old space venture backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, says it’ll use the world’s biggest airplane to launch small satellites into orbit – but…
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Air Force selects Atlas 5 to launch multipurpose satellite to high orbit
An Atlas 5-551 will launch the Air Force’s STP 3 mission. Credit: ULA CAPE CANAVERAL — A nuclear blast detection satellite and an assortment of experiments will be boosted directly into geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above Earth in 2019 by the most-powerful version of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket, the Air Force has decided.…
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Photos: Sunday’s return of X-37B after 718 days in space
This gallery of U.S. Air Force photos show technicians, wearing protective SCAPE suits, initially check for hazardous hypergolic fuel vapors around the X-37B spaceplane on the Shuttle Landing Facility runway and the subsequent tow of the vehicle to its newly-renovated hangar at the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Air Force
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X-37B spaceplane returns to Earth and makes autopilot landing in Florida
The military’s mini shuttle on the KSC runway this morning. Credit: Air Force Editor’s note: Exact landing time now added CAPE CANAVERAL — The Air Force’s robotic X-37B mini space shuttle swooped out of obscurity today after 718 days spent in orbit on a secretive military mission, touching down at the Kennedy Space Center’s orbiter…
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Air Force’s X-37B space plane lands in Florida after secret 2-year orbital mission
Workers in protective suits check out the Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehcile after its touchdown at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility. (U.S. Air Force Photo) After nearly two years in orbit, the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B robotic space plane landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida today with a loud sonic…
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Video: Sunday’s landing of X-37B at Kennedy Space Center
The U.S. military’s mini space shuttle successfully returned to Earth today, touching down on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility after spending 718 days in space. These video clips were released by the Air Force showing different views of the landing. (The NASA shuttle seen is a museum mockup being restored near the runway).
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Photos: Additional shots of successful Delta 4 rocket launch
The 377th Delta rocket begins its journey to space carrying a military communications satellite funded by Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and New Zealand in a deal that gives the allies access to the U.S. military’s worldwide Wideband Global SATCOM system. Photos by Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Scriptunas Images See earlier Delta 377 coverage.…
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Photos: Delta 4 powers from pad with international satellite
Launching the Wideband Global SATCOM 9 satellite purchased by allied nations in collaboration with the U.S. military’s worldwide communications network, a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket thundered away from Cape Canaveral at 8:18 p.m. EDT (0018 GMT). Credit: United Launch Alliance See earlier Delta 377 coverage. Our Delta archive.
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Video: Liftoff of Delta 4 rocket and WGS 9 satellite
The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket, standing 217 feet tall and weighing 900,000 pounds, unleashes 1.8 million pounds of thrust from its main engine and four side-mounted boosters at 8:18 p.m. EDT (0018 GMT) today to launch the ninth Wideband Global SATCOM satellite for U.S. military and allied communications. See earlier Delta 377 coverage.…