Tag: DARPA
-
Farewell, Phantom Express: Boeing is pulling out of DARPA space plane program
An artist’s conception shows Boeing’s Phantom Express XS-1 space plane in flight. (Boeing Illustration) The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency says Boeing is dropping out of its Experimental Spaceplane Program immediately, grounding the XS-1 Phantom Express even though technical tests had shown the hypersonic space plane concept was feasible. “The detailed engineering activities conducted…
-
The three finalists in the DARPA Launch Challenge include a mystery competitor
An artist’s conception shows multiple rockets lifting off from an oceanside launch complex. (DARPA Illustration) Three teams have qualified to go into the rocket-launching phase of the DARPA Launch Challenge: Vector Launch, Virgin Orbit’s VOX Space subsidiary … and a team to be named later. In making today’s announcement, DARPA said the third team asked to…
-
Rocket Lab launches DARPA research satellite
Rocket Lab’s fifth Electron rocket launched at 7:27 p.m. EDT (2327 GMT) from the company’s launch complex on Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. Credit: Rocket Lab/Kieran Fanning & Sam Toms A Rocket Lab Electron rocket climbed into orbit from New Zealand Thursday (U.S. time) with an experimental payload for a U.S. military research and development…
-
Rocket Lab launches DARPA’s R3D2 experimental satellite from New Zealand
Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle rises from its New Zealand launch pad. (Rocket Lab via YouTube) Rocket Lab executed its first launch of the year from New Zealand today, sending an experimental satellite into orbit for the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The company’s Electron launch vehicle lifted off from Launch Complex 1 on…
-
Rocket Lab launches dedicated DARPA mission on Electron
Rocket Lab is aiming for a rapid launch cadence in 2019, and begun that campaign with the first Electron launch of the year. The window to launch the R3D2 mission for DARPA was to open on Sunday at 22:30 UTC for four hours. However, a scrub was called for at least 48 hours due to…
-
Rocket Lab launch with DARPA’s R3D2 satellite rescheduled for Thursday
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated March 25 and March 26 with new target launch dates. Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket during a countdown Sunday (U.S. time). Credit: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab’s launch team canceled a launch attempt Sunday in New Zealand after discovering a misbehaving video transmitter on the Electron booster set to loft a small U.S. military…
-
Timeline for Rocket Lab’s launch of DARPA’s R3D2 tech demo satellite
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated March 24, March 25 and 26 with new launch dates. Rocket Lab’s light-class Electron launcher is set to take off on its fifth flight from New Zealand, aiming for a 264-mile-high (425-kilometer) orbit with DARPA’s R3D2 technology demonstration satellite. The two-stage, 55-foot-tall (17-meter) rocket is scheduled for liftoff during a four-hour window…
-
Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches experimental satellite for DARPA
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand carrying DARPA’s Radio Frequency Risk Reduction Deployment Demonstration (R3D2) satellite. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Rocket Lab’s live video webcast begins around 15 minutes prior to launch, and will be…
-
Rocket Lab readies for launch with U.S. military satellite
The Electron rocket’s payload shroud for the R3D2 mission. Credit: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab teams in New Zealand are preparing for the company’s first launch of the year Sunday (U.S. time) with a small experimental satellite for DARPA, the U.S. military’s research and development agency. Liftoff of Rocket Lab’s two-stage Electron rocket from the company’s…
-
DARPA is zeroing in on Launch Challenge
An artist’s conception shows rockets lifting off from an oceanside launch complex. (DARPA Illustration) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration are winnowing down 18 pre-qualified teams for the DARPA Launch Challenge, a competition with a $10 million grand prize that’s aimed at boosting America’s rapid-response launch capabilities.…