Tag: Launch
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Virgin Orbit schedules its first orbital test launch this weekend
EDITOR’S NOTE: A launch attempt Sunday was scrubbed due to a faulty sensor. Virgin Orbit did not immediately announce a new target launch date. A full-scale mock-up of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket falls away from a modified Boeing 747 carrier jet during an inert drop test in July 2019 over the Mojave Desert of California. Credit:…
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Photos: Atlas 5 rocket lifts off with U.S. military’s X-37B spaceplane
Launching the sixth mission of the U.S. military’s super-secret X-37B spaceplane program, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off Sunday morning from Cape Canaveral and successfully delivered its clandestine cargo to orbit. The 197-foot-tall (60-meter) Atlas 5 rocket launched from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 9:14 a.m. EDT (1314…
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Planet reserves rideshare slots on SpaceX Starlink launches
Two SkySat satellites receive their supply of “green” propellant before a launch on a Vega rocket from French Guiana in 2016. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon Three of Planet’s commercial SkySat Earth-imaging spacecraft will ride to space on top of a stack of SpaceX Starlink satellites next month aboard…
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Atlas 5 dedicated to health care workers, coronavirus victims
The Atlas 5 rocket launch carrying the sixth mission of the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane has become part of the military’s “America Strong” campaign, which includes nationwide aerial displays by the Blue Angles and Thunderbirds. Credit: United Launch Alliance U.S. military officials and United Launch Alliance have dedicated the planned launch Saturday of an…
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Live coverage: Atlas 5 launches with X-37B spaceplane
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Atlas 5 rocket with on the sixth flight of the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. United Launch Alliance’s live launch broadcast begins at 8:55 a.m. EDT (1255 GMT) Sunday, May 17. Spaceflight Now members can watch a live…
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SpaceX readies rocket for final Falcon 9 launch before crew flight
SpaceX test-fires a Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad. Credit: William Harwood/CBS News SpaceX fired up a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Wednesday in a pre-flight test for a Starlink satellite launch Sunday, moving closer to the company’s final mission before sending two NASA astronauts into orbit for the…
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NASA inks deal with Roscosmos to ensure continuous U.S. presence on space station
File photo of the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft approaching the International Space Station in March 2019. Credit: NASA With lingering uncertainty about when new U.S. commercial vehicles can regularly carry crews to the space station, NASA said Tuesday it will pay the Russian space agency more than $90 million for a round-trip ticket to the International Space Station…
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China’s massive Long March 5B’s rocket falls out of orbit over Atlantic Ocean
This map illustrates the track of the Long March 5B core stage on its final orbit. The rocket body re-entered over the North Atlantic Ocean, somewhat closer to the coast of Africa on this particular orbit. Credit: Aerospace Corp. A large rocket stage left in space after the successful launch of China’s heavy-lift Long March…
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U.S. military tracking unguided re-entry of large Chinese rocket
File photo of a Long March 5 core stage on a previous mission. Credit: Xinhua A Chinese rocket measuring around 100 feet long that launched earlier this month will likely plunge back into Earth’s atmosphere some time Monday, becoming the most massive object in decades to fall out of orbit in an uncontrolled manner. The…
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Spy satellite launch on Delta 4-Heavy rocket delayed to August
File photo of a Delta 4-Heavy launch in June 2012. Credit: United Launch Alliance The next flight of United Launch Alliance’s triple-barrel Delta 4-Heavy rocket has been delayed from June to late August, military officials said Friday. The heavy-lift rocket will carry a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload into orbit, likely targeting a geosynchronous station…