Tag: GPS
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U.S. Air Force divides new launch contracts between SpaceX, ULA
File photo of an Atlas 5 rocket launch. Credit: United Launch Alliance SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have split up to $645 million in new contracts to deploy U.S. Air Force navigation and surveillance satellites into orbit from 2019 through 2021. A Falcon 9 rocket built and operated by SpaceX will launch the Air Force’s…
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SpaceX nabs GPS launch contract as Air Force opens more missions for bidding
File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket launching from Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX The U.S. Air Force this week awarded SpaceX a contract to launch a Global Positioning System satellite in early 2019, concluding the second of as many as 15 competitions the military plans to run over the next year to pit SpaceX against…
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Falcon 9 rocket wins landmark U.S. Air Force launch contract
File photo of a Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch a third-generation GPS navigation satellite for the U.S. military in 2018, the Air Force said Wednesday, breaking a monopoly held by United Launch Alliance since its formation nearly a decade ago. The second satellite in the Air…
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Pentagon opens investigation into contracts with ULA
File photo of an Atlas 5 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral with a U.S. Navy communications satellite in January 2015. Credit: ULA The U.S. Defense Department’s internal watchdog has opened a probe into whether the Pentagon’s contracts with United Launch Alliance were properly awarded after a former ULA executive implied the government rigged a recent…
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ULA sits out Air Force launch competition
File photo of an Atlas 5 rocket launch. Credit: ULA United Launch Alliance said Monday it did not submit a proposal in a competition to launch a U.S. Air Force GPS navigation satellite, apparently relinquishing the contract to rival SpaceX, the only other company certified to launch the mission. The Air Force wanted both companies…
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Air Force stays the course with SpaceX rocket certification
File photo of a previous Falcon 9 launch. Credit: SpaceX Sunday’s Falcon 9 rocket failure may have blemished SpaceX’s success record, but the mishap will not keep the entrepreneurial space company from competing for U.S. military launch contracts with rival United Launch Alliance, according to an Air Force general. SpaceX won certification from the Air…
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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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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…
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Photos: More shots of Delta 4 liftoff
The 721,000-pound United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket launches on-time at 2:36 p.m. EDT into a deck of low-hanging clouds over Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the GPS 2F-9 navigation satellite. Credit: ULA
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Video: Delta 4 lifts off
A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket was launched on-time today at 2:36 p.m. EDT carrying a new Global Positioning System spacecraft to advance the navigation network with every launch.