Tag: Vandenberg
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SpaceX Falcon 9 conducts static fire ahead of Iridium NEXT-6/GRACE-FO mission
SpaceX conducted a Static Fire test on its Falcon 9 rocket for its second launch in May at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This specific Falcon 9 rocket includes the flight-proven core 1043, which launched the classified “Zuma” mission in January 2018. The rocket will launch 5 Iridium NEXT satellites for Iridium Communications and…
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Atlas V launches first West Coast interplanetary mission with InSight spacecraft to Mars
NASA’s InSight mission began a six-month journey to Mars on Saturday with liftoff aboard United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket. The first interplanetary mission to launch from the West Coast of the United States, InSight departed from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base at the opening of a two-hour launch window that opened at 04:05 local…
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Falcon 9 conducts static fire test ahead of the fifth Iridium NEXT mission
SpaceX has static fired its Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC-4E ahead of the fifth of eight planned Iridium NEXT launches. The vehicle, which includes the flight-proven booster 1041.2, will lift the fifth batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into a 625 km polar orbit. The static fire test was conducted near…
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Falcon 9 conducts static fire test ahead of the fifth Iridium NEXT mission
SpaceX has static fired its Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC-4E ahead of the fifth of eight planned Iridium NEXT launches. The vehicle, which includes the flight-proven booster 1041.2, will lift the fifth batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into a 625 km polar orbit. The static fire test was conducted near…
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SpaceX launches Falcon 9 with PAZ, Starlink demo and new fairing
SpaceX has launched with the debuting of an upgraded payload fairing for the Falcon 9 rocket during Spain’s Paz satellite lofting from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Thursday. The launch, scrubbed on Wednesday due to Upper Level Winds, also carried the first demonstration satellites for SpaceX’s own satellite internet constellation. Launch occurred at an instantaneous…
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Falcon 9 static fires at Vandenberg ahead of Paz + Starlink launch
SpaceX is progressing well through what they hope to be their busiest year yet, conducting its customary static fire test ahead of the upcoming Paz and Starlink demosats launch. The static fire took place on Sunday. Launch is scheduled for February 17 from Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC-4E. SpaceX has also been upgrading many facilities…
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SpaceX: Iridium-5 to launch in March; government shutdown creates manifest uncertainty
Iridium Communications Inc. has announced the target launch date for their fifth flight aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, to continue deployment of their Iridium NEXT communications constellation. Meanwhile, the U.S. government shutdown is now creating uncertainties for SpaceX with their near-term manifest. Iridium NEXT-5 mission gets a launch…
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ULA Delta IV successfully launches NROL-47
United Launch Alliance launched a Delta IV rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, carrying the classified NROL-47 mission for the US National Reconnaissance Office. Following a scrub on Thursday, liftoff occurred on Friday at 22:10 UTC. NRO Launch 47, or NROL-47, is a national security payload that will be operated by the National Reconnaissance Office…
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SpaceX close out 2017 campaign with Iridium-4 launch
SpaceX conducted its final launch of 2017 Friday, with a Falcon 9 lifting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base to deploy ten more Iridium-NEXT communications satellites. The launch, which occurred at 17:27:23 Pacific Time (01:27 UTC on Saturday), took place 61 seconds after a Japanese H-IIA rocket is lifted off on the other side of…
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Iridium NEXT-4 on track for December launch from Vandenberg
While SpaceX continues to investigate a payload fairing issue, the company’s only two confirmed December missions remain on track for their respective launches, including Iridium NEXT-4. The Iridium NEXT-4 mission is not affected by the payload fairing issue and is processing toward a planned No Earlier Than 22 December launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base,…