Tag: United Launch Alliance
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Preps begin for summer’s third planned military space launch
MUOS 4. Credit: Lockheed Martin CAPE CANAVERAL — Tucked inside a shipping crate aboard an Air Force C-5 transport aircraft, the Navy’s next mobile communications satellite has flown from California to Florida in preparation for liftoff this summer. The Mobile User Objective System satellite No. 4, built by Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, Calif., was shipped…
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Launch campaign underway for next Air Force Delta 4 rocket
File image of WGS satellite. Credit: ULA CAPE CANAVERAL — With the Delta 4 rocket now waiting on the launch pad, its Air Force Wideband Global SATCOM communications satellite payload has jetted from the Los Angeles factory to the Cape Canaveral in preparation for liftoff this summer. The Boeing-built WGS 7 spacecraft arrived May 28…
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X-37B spaceplane’s orbit discovered
Credit: Boeing CAPE CANAVERAL — Hobbyists who keep track of the skies with remarkable precision have found the U.S. Air Force’s mini space shuttle in its no-longer-secret orbit around the Earth. The X-37B craft, making the program’s fourth mission into space, was launched May 20 from Cape Canaveral atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5…
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Live coverage: Atlas 5 rocket lifts off with X-37B spaceplane
(Launch webcast begins at 10:45 a.m. EDT) Mission Status Center Live coverage of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket carrying the Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane on its fourth mission into space. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
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Preview: X-37B spaceplane to journey back into space Wednesday
CAPE CANAVERAL — An experiment-carrying, reusable mini space shuttle operated by the U.S. Air Force will be boosted into Earth orbit Wednesday atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. It will be the fourth flight of the military’s X-37B program, also known as Orbital Test Vehicle mission No. 4. The project is run inside…
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ULA, SpaceX face off in landmark Air Force launch competition
Artist’s concept of a GPS 3 satellite. Credit: Lockheed Martin The U.S. Air Force has identified the launch of a next-generation GPS navigation satellite for the first in a series of competitive rocket procurements between United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, service officials announced Wednesday. The Air Force released a draft request for proposals Wednesday for…
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New details emerge about electric propulsion experiment aboard X-37B
Credit: Air Force CAPE CANAVERAL — All systems are now “go” for launch of the Air Force’s X-37B mystery spaceplane on May 20 from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas 5 rocket. Officials had delayed the X-37B launch by two weeks — from May 6 to no earlier than May 20 — due to an undisclosed…
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Fourth X-37B flight a month away from launching
File photo. Credit: Air Force CAPE CANAVERAL — The U.S. Air Force on Friday made its first public confirmation that the X-37B unmanned space shuttle will be launched next month on the fourth flight of an Orbital Test Vehicle. “We are excited about our fourth X-37B mission,” said Randy Walden, the director of the Air…
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ULA needs commercial customers to close Vulcan rocket business case
Artist’s concept of ULA’s Vulcan rocket. Credit: ULA United Launch Alliance will need to lure commercial customers to ensure the economic viability of its new Vulcan rocket, which is set to debut in 2019 just as the rate of U.S. military satellite launches is due to take a dip. The Vulcan rocket must fly at…
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Newest GPS satellite goes into service
CAPE CANAVERAL — The world’s population can now make full use of the latest Global Positioning System satellite launched from Cape Canaveral last month. The GPS 2F-9 satellite has gone into service following its March 25 foggy liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket and subsequent month-long checkout in space. “We’re improving civilian…