Tag: military space
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Russia launches space surveillance satellite
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Nov. 26 with video and orbital elements. A modified Soyuz rocket delivered a top secret Russian military payload into orbit Monday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia, according to the country’s defense ministry. The mission lifted off from the Site 43 launch complex at Plesetsk at 1752 GMT (12:52 p.m. EST;…
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ULA kicks off next Delta 4-Heavy launch campaign
A hydraulic erector raised United Launch Alliance’s next Delta 4-Heavy rocket vertical at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 37 launch pad Friday. Credit: United Launch Alliance The next Delta 4-Heavy rocket was raised vertical Friday at Cape Canaveral, signaling the start of a comprehensive series of pre-flight tests before liftoff next year with a top secret U.S.…
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X-37B’s return to Cape Canaveral in images
The U.S. Air Force has released an infrared video and additional images from Sunday’s landing of the military’s X-37B spaceplane in Florida after a top secret mission that lasted more than two years. The unpiloted spaceplane touched down at the Shuttle Landing Facility runway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 3:51 a.m. EDT (0751…
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U.S. military’s X-37B spaceplane lands in Florida
Members of the X-37B recovery team, wearing hazardous material suits, approached the X-37B spaceplane for safety checks after the vehicle landed Sunday on the Shuttle Landing Facility runway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: U.S. Air Force The U.S. Air Force’s reusable Boeing-built X-37B spaceplane returned to Earth early Sunday with a touchdown…
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Solid rocket motor test-fired for Atlas 5 debut next year
A new solid rocket motor built by Northrop Grumman has aced its final test-firing before a scheduled debut on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket flight next year. Northrop Grumman’s GEM 63 solid rocket motor will replace the Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ-60A solid-fueled booster that has flown on Atlas 5 rockets since 2003. Billed…
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Russia launches missile warning satellite
A Russian military satellite designed to detect missile launches arrived in orbit Thursday following a successful liftoff aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The Russian Defense Ministry said a Soyuz-2.1b rocket, topped with a Fregat upper stage, launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 0746 GMT (3:46 a.m. EDT) Thursday carrying…
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Russian military satellite orbited by Rockot launcher
A geodetic surveying satellite for the Russian military successfully launched Friday aboard a Rockot booster — a modified ballistic missile — from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The 95-foot-tall (29-meter) Rockot launcher lifted off at 1400 GMT (10 a.m. EDT; 5 p.m. Moscow time) Friday from Plesetsk, according to a statement released by Roscosmos, the Russian space…
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Surveillance photos reveal apparent explosion on Iranian launch pad
This image, tweeted by President Trump on Friday, appears to come from a high-resolution camera on a U.S. government drone or satellite. It shows damage to an Iranian satellite launch pad. A day after commercial satellite images revealed a smoke plume over an Iranian launch pad, President Trump tweeted a remarkably high-resolution aerial photograph of…
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Trump reauthorizes U.S. Space Command
Air Force Gen. Jay Raymond, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence participated in a White House ceremony Thursday to reestablish U.S. Space Command. Credit: Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour President Trump reestablished U.S. Space Command in a White House ceremony Thursday, setting up a unified combatant…
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U.S. military spaceplane breaks its own longevity record in orbit
Artist’s concept of the X-37B spaceplane in orbit. Credit: Boeing A robotic U.S. military spaceplane surpassed 719 days in orbit Monday, setting a new record for the longest flight of the Air Force’s winged X-37B orbiting experiment platform nearly two years after launching from Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Air Force officials have…