Tag: Atlas V
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Launch Roundup: ULA scrubs launch of Kuiper satellites, NASA postpones launch of Axiom crew to ISS
Both SpaceX and NASA have postponed this week’s planned launch of Axiom Space’s fourth private crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS), following leaks discovered on both the vehicle and subsequently on the Space Station’s Zvezda module. The flight was due to debut the fifth and final Crew Dragon capsule, and would further increase…
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We finally know a little more about Amazon’s super-secret satellites
The first production satellites for Amazon’s Kuiper broadband network launched earlier this week, but if you tuned in to the mission’s official livestream, the truncated coverage had the feel of a spy satellite launch. This changed with a video Amazon posted on social media Friday, giving space enthusiasts and prospective Kuiper customers their first look…
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We finally know a little more about Amazon’s super-secret satellites
The first production satellites for Amazon’s Kuiper broadband network launched earlier this week, but if you tuned in to the mission’s official livestream, the truncated coverage had the feel of a spy satellite launch. This changed with a video Amazon posted on social media Friday, giving space enthusiasts and prospective Kuiper customers their first look…
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A rocket launch Monday night may finally jump-start Amazon’s answer to Starlink
The first 27 operational satellites for Amazon’s Kuiper broadband network lifted off from Florida’s Space Coast on Monday evening, the opening salvo in a challenge to SpaceX’s dominant Starlink global Internet service. Amazon’s Project Kuiper, costing up to $20 billion, will beam high-speed, low-latency broadband signals to consumers around the world. Monday’s milestone launch kicks…
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ULA launches first operational Amazon Kuiper mission on second attempt
Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband communications mega-constellation, a future competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink service, has launched its first operational satellites to low-Earth orbit. Following a scrubbed first launch attempt, a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 551, standing atop Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida, lofted Project Kuiper (KA-01), the first of more than 80 Kuiper…
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Launch Roundup: China launches crew, Falcon 9 launches Bandwagon rideshare and 250th Starlink mission
This week, China has launched three taikonauts to the Tiangong space station. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 had four flights scheduled, with its third Bandwagon rideshare mission followed by three more Starlink missions, including its 250th dedicated Starlink flight. United Launch Alliance successfully launched its first batch of operational Kuiper satellites aboard an Atlas V 551 rocket.…
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Launch Roundup: Falcon 9 launches three missions; New Shepard completes NS-31
During this active week of launches, SpaceX launched Falcon 9 three times, and New Shepard carried the first all-woman crew above the Kármán line. On April 10, China successfully launched a Cheng Zhang 3B/E rocket into geostationary transfer orbit. SpaceX launched NROL-192 and Starlink Group 12-17 on April 12, followed by an expected launch of…
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Atlas V set for final missions ahead of retirement
United Launch Alliance (ULA) will soon close out production of its Atlas V rocket, completing a stock of 15 boosters set to fly on contracted missions. With ULA’s future focus on the Vulcan rocket, Atlas V will aim to end on a high, adding to over one hundred successful launches. The last Atlas V Common Core Booster will…
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While ULA studies Vulcan booster anomaly, it’s also investigating fairing issues
A little more than a year ago, a snippet of video that wasn’t supposed to go public made its way onto United Launch Alliance’s live broadcast of an Atlas V rocket launch carrying three classified surveillance satellites for the US Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office. On these types of secretive national security missions,…
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Rocket Report: Falcon 9 is back; Starship could be recovered off Australia
Welcome to Edition 7.05 of the Rocket Report! The Federal Aviation Administration grounded SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket for 15 days after a rare failure of its upper stage earlier this month. The FAA gave the green light for Falcon 9 to return to flight July 25, and within a couple of days, SpaceX successfully launched…