Tag: military space
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Iran places military satellite in orbit
Iran’s Qased launcher lifts off Wednesday with the country’s Noor military satellite. Credit: IRIB News Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps — a branch of the country’s armed forces — launched a small military spacecraft into orbit Wednesday, ending a string of rocket failures in the nascent Iranian satellite program. The small military craft, named Noor, flew…
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U.S. officials condemn Russian anti-satellite test
A visualization of space debris in low Earth orbit. Credit: NASA The U.S. military’s chief of space operations rebuked a test of a Russian anti-satellite missile Wednesday, although the test did not apparently target and destroy a spacecraft in orbit. In a statement, U.S. Space Command said it was aware of a test Wednesday of…
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ULA delivers Delta 4-Heavy rocket to California launch base
The three first stage boosters for a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket are revealed April 5 after delivery on ULA’s RocketShip transport vessel. Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Aubree Owens United Launch Alliance’s rocket transport ship has delivered a Delta 4-Heavy rocket to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in preparation…
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Military officials committed to keeping Cape Canaveral open for launches
Military officials say launches will continue at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but public viewing sites will be closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky The military-run Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral remains ready to support upcoming launches — including an Atlas 5 flight Thursday — amid the coronavirus pandemic, officials said…
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Soyuz rocket launches with Russian navigation satellite
A Soyuz booster and Fregat upper stage carried a Russian Glonass navigation satellite into orbit Monday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian space officials said. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced a Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off from Plesetsk — about 500 miles (800 kilometers) north of Moscow — at 1828 GMT (2:28 p.m. EDT; 9:28…
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Soyuz rocket launches Russian military satellite after one-month delay
Video credit: Russian Ministry of Defense A Russian military communications satellite rode a Soyuz rocket and Fregat upper stage Thursday into an orbit stretching nearly 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers) above Earth, successfully launching after a one-month delay to replace a suspect third stage on the Soyuz booster. The Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off with a Meridian…
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Next GPS satellite lands in Florida for April launch
A container with the U.S. Space Force’s third GPS 3-series navigation satellite arrived at Space Coast Regional Airport Feb. 5 aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane. Credit: U.S. Air Force photo / Lt. Col. Maggie Sullivan The U.S. Space Force’s third new-generation GPS 3-series navigation satellite has arrived in Florida for final processing…
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Florida launch base to be renamed Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Two reusable rocket boosters land at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station after the successful launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket with the Arabsat 6A satellite April 12, 2019. Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by James Rainier The military-run spaceport at Cape Canaveral will soon be renamed Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to reflect the facility’s…
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Boeing backs out of DARPA spaceplane program
After receiving more than $150 million in U.S. military funding to design and develop a reusable winged spaceplane named Phantom Express, Boeing said Wednesday it is ending its work on the vehicle, effectively killing a program military officials hoped would offer regular, reduced-cost launch opportunities for small satellites. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency,…
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NRO, the U.S. spy satellite agency, preps for first dedicated launch on foreign soil
The payload shroud for Rocket Lab’s next mission — designed NROL-151 by the National Reconnaissance Office — is pictured inside a processing facility in New Zealand. Credit: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab’s first mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, which owns the U.S. government’s fleet of intelligence-gathering satellites, is scheduled to launch from New Zealand as…