Tag: Air Force
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Atlas 5 and Delta 4 achieve milestones in parallel on the same morning
The SBIRS GEO Flight 3 satellite will be launched next week. Credit: Lockheed Martin CAPE CANAVERAL — Critical operations were completed this morning by United Launch Alliance at Cape Canaveral to prepare two rockets for upcoming flights into space. At the Vertical Integration Facility adjacent to Complex 41, the U.S. military’s $1.2 billion SBIRS GEO…
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Multi-national contribution to U.S. military network delivered for launch
The next satellite for the U.S. military’s communications network, this one purchased by five international allies, has arrived in Florida for its launch in March atop a Delta 4 rocket. The ninth Wideband Global SATCOM spacecraft has been delivered to Cape Canaveral from the Boeing factory in Los Angeles. @af_smc, @Boeing, @AirMobilityCmd & msn partners…
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Fastest ever stacking of Atlas 5 underway for next national security launch
File video of LVOS. Credit: NASA TV CAPE CANAVERAL — Just two weeks before it flies to space, the core stage of the next Atlas 5 rocket was erected aboard the mobile launcher platform this morning by United Launch Alliance technicians to kick off a streamlined vehicle assembly that will break a record. Never before…
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U.S. launches its highest capacity military communications satellite
CAPE CANAVERAL — An antenna-covered communications spacecraft that will bring more bandwidth and capacity to the U.S. military’s global information grid than any single satellite ever before was successfully launched Wednesday atop a Delta 4 rocket. United Launch Alliance delivered the Wideband Global SATCOM satellite No. 8 into space for the U.S. Air Force following…
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Photos: Delta 4 powers from launch pad on military mission
Launching the Wideband Global SATCOM 8 satellite for the U.S. military, a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket thundered away from Cape Canaveral at 6:53 p.m. EST (2353 GMT). United Launch Alliance See earlier Delta 376 coverage. Our Delta archive.
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Video: Liftoff of Delta 4 rocket and WGS 8 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 6:53 p.m. EST (2353 GMT) Wednesday to launch the eighth Wideband Global SATCOM satellite for U.S. military communications. See earlier Delta 376 coverage. Our Delta…
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WGS-8 military satellite goes into orbit
A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket is wrapped in flame and smoke as it lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, sending the U.S. Air Force’s Wideband Global Satcom 8 satellite into space. (ULA via YouTube) An advanced satellite for battlefield communications, known as Wideband Global Satcom-8, rose into orbit tonight from Cape…
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Live coverage of Delta 4 countdown and launch
Live coverage of the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket flight with the Wideband Global SATCOM 8 satellite. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. (Launch webcast begins at 6:33 p.m. EST / 2333 GMT)
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Timeline: Delta 4/WGS 8 launch events
Follow the Delta 4 rocket’s ascent into orbit from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 37 launch pad with the U.S. Air Force’s WGS 8 communications satellite. Liftoff is scheduled for Wednesday at 6:53 p.m. EST. T-00:05.0 Engine start The RS-68A main engine begins to ignite as the liquid hydrogen fuel valve is opened, creating a large fireball…
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Preview: Upgraded satellite for military communications to launch
A Delta 4 rocket will launch the WGS 8 satellite on Wednesday. Credit: United Launch Alliance CAPE CANAVERAL — The backbone of the U.S. military’s global communications network, relied upon by soldiers, ships, jets, aerial drones and allied nations around the world, will receive a new satellite with unprecedented capacity following its launch Wednesday atop…