Tag: military space
-
Rocket Lab to debut Virginia launch pad with U.S. Air Force mission next year
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT) after press conference. File photo of an Electron rocket lifting off from Rocket Lab’s launch site in New Zealand, powered by nine liquid-fueled Rutherford engines. Credit: Rocket Lab / Andrew Burns & Simon Moffatt Rocket Lab plans to launch a research and development microsatellite mission for the…
-
Falcon 9 performs extended mission in test for future U.S. military launches
An aft-facing camera on the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage captured this view of the Dragon spacecraft with its solar panels extended shortly after arriving in orbit Thursday. The upper stage continued its mission and performed a long-duration coast experiment after releasing the Dragon cargo ship. Credit: SpaceX An extended mission for the Falcon 9…
-
Long-duration coast experiment on tap after Falcon 9 launch Thursday
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Dec. 4 after scrub. Artist’s illustration of a Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX will perform a multi-hour experiment on the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket after the launcher deploys a Dragon supply ship on the way to the International Space Station Thursday, gathering thermal data and other information…
-
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;…
-
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.…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…