Tag: National Reconnaissance Office
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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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Photos: Delta 4-Heavy blasts off from Vandenberg
The first of up to seven United Launch Alliance missions lifted off Jan. 19 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where a Delta 4-Heavy launcher fired into orbit with 2.1 million pounds of thrust from three hydrogen-fueled RS-68A main engines with a U.S. government spy satellite. The orange and white launcher, standing 233 feet…
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Photos: Delta 4-Heavy blasts off from Vandenberg
The first of up to seven United Launch Alliance missions lifted off Jan. 19 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where a Delta 4-Heavy launcher fired into orbit with 2.1 million pounds of thrust from three hydrogen-fueled RS-68A main engines with a U.S. government spy satellite. The orange and white launcher, standing 233 feet…
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Live coverage: Delta 4-Heavy launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket with the National Reconnaissance Office’s NROL-71 payload. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Note: We are not able to provide the coverage you have come to expect for this launch due to a decision by United Launch Alliance.…
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Delta 4-Heavy rocket launches U.S. spy satellite into unusual orbit
A Delta 4-Heavy rocket, comprising three hydrogen-fueled first stage boosters connected together, lifted off at 11:10 a.m. PST (2:10 p.m. EST; 1910 GMT) Saturday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: United Launch Alliance A top secret surveillance payload owned by the National Reconnaissance Office soared into space Saturday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in…
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First of up to seven ULA launches this year set for Saturday
File photo of the Delta 4-Heavy on Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: United Launch Alliance The first of up to seven missions planned on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas and Delta rocket fleets this year is scheduled for Saturday from California’s Central Coast, when a Delta 4-Heavy is set for blastoff…
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Delta 4-Heavy launch with spy satellite pushed back to January
A Delta 4-Heavy rocket stands at Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on Dec. 19. Credit: United Launch Alliance After unusual concentrations of hydrogen around the rocket foiled a launch attempt Dec. 19, United Launch Alliance said Friday that the company’s powerful Delta 4-Heavy launcher and a U.S. government spy satellite will…
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Delta 4-Heavy countdown aborted moments before launch
Video credit: United Launch Alliance A dramatic automatic abort 7.5 seconds before the planned liftoff of a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket Saturday night kept the towering launcher on the pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, with a top secret spy payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. The 233-foot-tall (71-meter) rocket was counting…
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Photos: Delta 4-Heavy poised for launch with U.S. spy satellite
A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket stands 233 feet (71 meters) tall at Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, ready for liftoff Saturday night carrying a top secret U.S. government spy satellite into orbit. The triple-core rocket measures 53 feet (16 meters) wide with its three first stage boosters bolted together.…