Tag: Launch Services Program
-
SpaceX wins contract to launch NASA’s PACE Earth science mission
A Falcon 9 rocket stands vertical at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad in this file photo. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX has won an $80 million contract to launch a NASA environmental research satellite aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in late 2022 to collect data on ocean ecosystems and clouds, a mission that…
-
Long-delayed NASA science satellite gets October launch date
Technicians extend the solar array on NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, satellite during a deployment test Aug. 10 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin The launch of a NASA ionospheric research satellite off Florida’s east coast is targeted for Oct. 9 after persistent technical problems with its air-dropped Pegasus rocket stymied…
-
Pegasus rocket launch postponed
The ICON spacecraft was re-encapsulated inside the Pegasus XL rocket’s nose cone at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, after an aborted launch campaign in June. Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin Continuing a series of delays keeping NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer on Earth, NASA announced Tuesday that the satellite’s launch aboard an air-dropped Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket…
-
Photos: Final Delta 2 rocket assembled for launch in California
The step-by-step stacking of United Launch Alliance’s final Delta 2 rocket was completed in June at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for liftoff Sept. 15 with an Earth science satellite for NASA. Workers at Vandenberg lifted the Delta 2’s first stage on its launch mount June 8, then added an interstage connector June 12.…
-
Tanking test marks resumption of Delta 2 rocket’s final launch campaign
Ground crews lift the second stage of a Delta 2 rocket into the mobile gantry at Space Launch Complex 2-West at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The second stage was stacked atop the Delta 2 rocket June 21. Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin With each day, another milestone passes like clockwork for engineers and technicians preparing a United…
-
NASA likely to relocate delayed Pegasus launch to Florida
A Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, carried underneath a modified L-1011 airplane, departed Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on June 6 on the way to Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The rocket and carrier jet returned to Vandenberg on June 8 after engineers encountered a technical problem with the launch vehicle during the…
-
Carrier jet with Pegasus rocket returning to California, postponing NASA satellite launch
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT). The L-1011 carrier aircraft with Northrop Grumman’s air-dropped Pegasus launcher departed Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on Wednesday on a planned two-day ferry flight to Kwajalein Atoll. The aircraft and Pegasus rocket will return to Vandenberg after teams encountered a technical concern en route to Kwajalein.…
-
Pegasus rocket, NASA satellite head for launch base in Pacific
The Pegasus XL rocket, fastened underneath an L-1011 carrier plane, took off Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, en route to Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News Slung under the belly of a specially-equipped carrier airplane, a Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket took off Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base…
-
NASA releases summary of investigation into SpaceX’s 2015 launch failure
NASA’s independent review team that investigated the destruction of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon supply ship shortly after liftoff in June 2015 concluded a design error led to the loss of more than two tons of provisions and equipment heading for the International Space Station. Engineers from NASA’s Launch Services Program, a group…
-
NASA to fly CubeSats on three new commercial launchers
File photo of a one-unit (1U) CubeSat. Credit: NASA Ames NASA announced Wednesday it is joining a chorus of companies pushing for easier access to space, awarding $17.1 million in contracts to three firms developing new launchers tailored for lifting lightweight satellites into orbit. None of the rockets have flown yet, but NASA plans to…