Tag: military space
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NOAA weather satellite transitions to new role for U.S. military
A view of the Earth from the EWS-G1 satellite, formerly known as GOES–13, taken on Sept. 1, 2020, from its new location over the Indian Ocean. Credit: U.S. Space Force’s MARK IV-B Program Office A weather satellite built and launched for NOAA in 2006 to help track hurricanes approaching the United States has been repositioned…
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China tests experimental reusable spacecraft shrouded in mystery
File photo of a previous Long March 2F launch. Credit: Xinhua A mysterious space vehicle described by Chinese state media as an experimental reusable spacecraft completed a two-day flight in low Earth orbit Sunday. The spacecraft took off on top of a Long March 2F rocket Friday from the Jiuquan launch base in the Gobi…
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ULA calls off launch of triple-core Delta 4-Heavy rocket, will try again Saturday
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) on Aug. 27 with confirmation of SAOCOM 1B delay. Updated at 2:45 p.m. EDT (1845 GMT) on Aug. 27 with delay until Saturday. United Launch Alliance’s Delta 4-Heavy rocket is revealed late Wednesday with the removal of the mobile gantry on pad 37B at Cape Canaveral Air…
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Delta 4-Heavy likely heading for geosynchronous orbit with surveillance payload
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Aug. 28 before second launch attempt. Updated Sept. 28, 29 and 30 before subsequent launch attempts. The top secret intelligence-gathering payload for the U.S. government set for launch Wednesday on top of a Delta 4-Heavy rocket is likely the next in a line of sensitive eavesdropping satellites designed to intercept radio signals…
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Photos: Mobile gantry retracted from ULA’s Delta 4-Heavy for Aug. 27 launch attempt
Towering more than 30 stories tall, the mobile gantry structure at the Delta 4-Heavy rocket’s launch pad at Cape Canaveral was wheeled into position for liftoff of the triple-core launcher Thursday with a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. The mobile gantry — which weighs around 9 million pounds — is moving on rail…
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Live coverage: Launch of Delta 4-Heavy aborted seconds before liftoff
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Delta 4-Heavy rocket with the classified NROL-44 payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. United Launch Alliance’s live launch broadcast begins at 1:52 a.m. EDT (0552 GMT) Thursday, Aug. 27.
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Pentagon plans to keep X-37B spaceplane under Air Force management
The reusable X-37B spaceplane is prepared for encapsulation inside the payload fairing of an Atlas 5 rocket ahead of a launch scheduled for May 16. Credit: U.S. Space Force The U.S. military’s X-37B spaceplane program will remain under Air Force management for the foreseeable future, and won’t join other Pentagon space programs turned over to…
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Photos: Minotaur rocket vaults into orbit from Virginia
Riding a half-million pounds of thrust, a Minotaur 4 rocket fired off a launch pad in Virginia, surpassed the speed of sound in less than 20 seconds, and vaulted into orbit Wednesday with four classified payloads for the National Reconnaissance Office. The 78-foot-tall (23.8-meter) Minotaur 4 rocket launched at 9:46 a.m. EDT (1346 GMT) Wednesday…
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Minotaur rocket successfully deploys four NRO satellites in orbit
A Minotaur 4 rocket fires into a mostly sunny sky Wednesday from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia. Credit: Northrop Grumman/Thom Baur A solid-fueled Northrop Grumman Minotaur 4 rocket vaulted into orbit Wednesday from Virginia’s Eastern Shore and deployed four top secret spacecraft for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency, extending the program’s…
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Photos: Minotaur 4 rocket ready for launch from Virginia
A 78-foot-tall (23.8-meter) Minotaur 4 rocket is poised for liftoff Wednesday from Virginia’s Eastern Shore carrying four top secret payloads into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office. The Northrop Grumman-built rocket, using three retired Peacekeeper missile stages and a commercial solid rocket motor upper stage, is standing on pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport,…