Tag: Vandenberg
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Launch Roundup: Falcon Heavy returns with GOES-U, Firefly Alpha launch attempt
Following a week in which Tropical Storm Alberto brought high seas, wind, and rain-related delays to the launch schedule in Florida, SpaceX managed to get back on track this week with launches from all three of the active Falcon launch pads, including a Falcon Heavy. Toward the end of the week, the Japanese Aerospace and…
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Launch Roundup: Falcon 9’s busy launch cadence struggles
Following an extremely eventful week in Spaceflight, this week was expected to be a return to “business as usual”, with two SpaceX Starlink missions, one each from Vandenberg and Florida, and a Falcon 9 launching a customer satellite making up the launch manifest for the week. Unfortunately, the weather led to delays and cancellations, and…
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SpaceX has launched the EarthCARE climate research satellite for ESA and JAXA
The joint European-Japanese EarthCARE satellite has begun its mission to improve our understanding of Earth’s climate Tuesday, with a launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California happened at 3:20 PM Pacific Time (22:20 UTC). The Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer…
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SpaceX launches Transporter-10 rideshare from Vandenberg
On Monday, March 4, 2024, SpaceX launched the Transporter-10 rideshare mission from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB). Liftoff occurred at 2:05 PM PST (22:05 UTC). Deployment of payloads from the second stage to two Sun-synchronous orbits (SSO) at altitudes of approximately 520 kilometers and 600 kilometers began almost an hour…
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Launch Roundup: SpaceX launches two Starlink missions; China launches Chang Zheng 5
A brand new week of spaceflight is approaching with SpaceX preparing to launch three Starlink missions, China getting ready to send two payloads to orbit, including one on the powerful Chang Zheng 5 (CZ-5) rocket, and Roscosmos preparing to launch Russian-built satellites to orbit atop Soyuz. Late on Feb. 22, Starlink Group 7-15 took 22…
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The Space Force is changing the way it thinks about spaceports
A lot goes into a successful rocket launch. It’s not just reliable engines, computers, and sophisticated guidance algorithms. There’s also the launch pad and, perhaps even more of an afterthought to casual observers, the roads, bridges, pipelines, and electrical infrastructure required to keep a spaceport humming. Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, commander of the Space Force’s…
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Launch Roundup: Vulcan’s maiden flight, SpaceX continues launching Starlink
The week of Jan. 4 to Jan. 10 saw the long-awaited maiden flight of the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket carrying the Astrobotic Peregrine Mission One Lunar Lander to the Moon. Two Chinese rockets have launched: one Kuaizhou 1A, and the Einstein Probe X-ray satellite, launched on Jan 9. from Xichang, China on board a…
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Launch Roundup: Vulcan’s maiden flight, SpaceX continues launching Starlink
The week of Jan. 4 to Jan. 10 saw the long-awaited maiden flight of the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket carrying the Astrobotic Peregrine Mission One Lunar Lander to the Moon. Two Chinese rockets have launched: one Kuaizhou 1A, and the Einstein Probe X-ray satellite, launched on Jan 9. from Xichang, China on board a…
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Firefly suffers second stage anomaly on “Fly the Lightning” mission
Just on the heels of its success in integrating and launching a payload to orbit within 27 hours for the Space Force, Firefly Aerospace flew again — this time with a dedicated flight for Lockheed Martin. The Alpha FLTA004 mission lifted off from Space Launch Complex 2 West (SLC-2W) at California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base…
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Firefly’s Alpha successfully launches VICTUS NOX rapid response mission
Texas-based small launch company Firefly Aerospace jumpstarted its 2023 campaign with the launch of FLTA003 — the third flight of its Alpha launch vehicle — as part of a dedicated mission for the U.S. Space Force (USSF). Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 2 West (SLC-2W) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California happened on Thursday,…