Tag: Orbital ATK
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Teams practice for Cape Canaveral’s first launch of Minotaur 4 rocket
The pathfinder vehicle stands atop Complex 46, enclosed by the mobile gantry. Credit: Ben Cooper/Spaceflight Now CAPE CANAVERAL — Three inert Peacekeeper missile stages have been stacked at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 46 pad, demonstrating the techniques that will be used to assemble a Minotaur 4 rocket to launch an experimental space surveillance satellite this summer.…
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ULA’s navy delivers rocket that will launch supplies to the space station
A recent Mariner arrival at Port Canaveral for Atlas 5. Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now PORT CANAVERAL — The ocean-sailing ship that transports rocket stages from United Launch Alliance’s factory to U.S. launch sites completed its latest voyage overnight, pulling into port to deliver the Atlas 5 that will send a cargo freighter to the International…
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Fresh views of Saturday’s Falcon 9 rocket launch
Check out more imagery of Saturday’s liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, including pictures from remote cameras at the launch pad and new video released by the U.S. Air Force. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket soared into orbit from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, heading off with 10 Iridium voice and…
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Photos: Falcon 9 returns to flight with weekend launch from California
Launching for the first time in four-and-a-half months, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Saturday morning with 10 satellites for Iridium’s space-based message relay network. Towering 229 feet (70 meters) tall and measuring 12 feet (3.7 meters) in diameter, the two-stage rocket fired into the sky on…
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Live coverage: SpaceX resumes launches from California
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with 10 Iridium communications satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. SpaceX’s live video coverage begins at approximately 12:20 p.m. EST (9:20 a.m. PST; 1720…
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Falcon 9 rocket ready for all-important return to service Saturday
The Falcon 9 rocket with 10 Iridium Next communications satellites inside SpaceX’s hangar at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. SpaceX rolled a fully-assembled Falcon 9 booster out of its hangar and lifted it on top of a launch pad Friday for the first time since an explosion grounded the commercial rocket last year, setting the…
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Timeline for Falcon 9 rocket’s launch of 10 Iridium satellites
Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the first 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket will lift off Saturday at 9:54:39 a.m. PST (12:54:39 p.m. EST; 1754:39 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Data source: SpaceX T-0:00:00: Liftoff After…
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Minotaur rocket launch for NRO expected at Wallops by end of 2018
File photo of a Minotaur 1 launch from Wallops Island, Virginia. Credit: NASA/Wallops Flight Facility A classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite mission assigned last month to launch on an Orbital ATK Minotaur 1 rocket will take off from Wallops Island in Virginia by the end of 2018, a U.S. Air Force spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. No…
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Next SpaceX launch slipped to avoid stormy weather, range conflict
The mission patch for the first Falcon 9 launch for the Iridium Next satellite fleet shows the 10 satellites mounted on a special dispenser on the second stage, and the first stage descending to a vertical landing on a barge in the Pacific Ocean offshore California. Credit: SpaceX/Iridium Forecasters predict a rainy, breezy week along…
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Engine hotfire test completed for SpaceX’s first launch since explosion
File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now SpaceX’s launch team fueled up a Falcon 9 rocket on a California launch pad Thursday, fired the booster’s nine Merlin engines, and passed a key preflight test for the first time since a Falcon…