Tag: Orbital ATK
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After Zuma, SpaceX keeps pace in preps for next Falcon 9 launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Sunday with the U.S. government’s mysterious Zuma payload. Credit: SpaceX Ground crews took steps this week to prepare for the next Falcon 9 launch, set for no earlier than Jan. 30 with a telecom satellite for SES and the Luxembourg government, as SpaceX officials stressed their rocket was…
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Video: Falcon 9 lifts off at dusk from Vandenberg Air Force Base
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on the Pacific coastline northwest of Los Angeles on Friday night, sending 10 Iridium communications satellites toward orbit on a previously-flown first stage booster. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket lifted off at 5:27:34 p.m. PST (8:27:34 p.m. EST; 0127:34 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 4-East…
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Timeline for SpaceX’s fourth launch of Iridium satellites
Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the fourth set of 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket will lift off Friday at 5:27 p.m. PST (8:27 p.m. EST; 0137 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SpaceX will not attempt…
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Live coverage: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket makes its final launch of the year
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with 10 next-generation Iridium communications satellites. SpaceX’s live video coverage begins at approximately 8:12 p.m. EST (0112 GMT; 5:12 p.m. PST). Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow…
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Falcon 9 rocket set for launch Friday from California
A Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, is ready to be raised vertical on its launch pad for Friday’s liftoff. Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News SpaceX is set to close out a record-breaking 2017 launch campaign Friday night with the delivery of 10 more Iridium voice and data relay satellites to orbit…
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Launch of NASA ionospheric probe delayed to examine rocket issue
The second and third stages of the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket are offloaded from a transport vehicle at Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for the launch of NASA’s ICON satellite. Credit: NASA/Rodney Speed The launch of a NASA satellite to study the behavior of plasma in Earth’s ionosphere has been…
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Photos: Minotaur-C rocket lifts off from California’s Central Coast
Orbital ATK’s Minotaur-C rocket delivered 10 satellites to orbit Oct. 31 after liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, marking the solid-fueled rocket’s return to flight — with a new name and upgrades — after a six-year hiatus. The four-stage rocket lifted off at 2:37 p.m. PDT (5:37 p.m. EDT: 2137 GMT) on Oct.…
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Ten commercial Earth-observing satellites launched aboard Minotaur-C rocket
The Minotaur-C rocket fires away from pad 576E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: Orbital ATK Returning to service after a six-year hiatus, Orbital ATK’s revamped Minotaur-C rocket soared into space Tuesday from California’s Central Coast with 10 commercial Earth-imaging spacecraft for Planet, a San Francisco-based company with a globe-spanning satellite fleet mapping the…
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Photos: Minotaur-C rocket awaits liftoff from California
Standing on a seaside launch pad overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a Minotaur-C rocket is set for launch Tuesday from California’s Central Coast with 10 Earth observation satellites manufactured in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. These photos show the Minotaur-C rocket, which stands about 104 feet (32 meters) tall, poised on a launch pedestal at Space…
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Familiar rocket with new name returns to flight Tuesday
Orbital ATK’s Minotaur-C rocket stands on its launch pad Monday at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now More than six years after back-to-back failures left the Taurus rocket with an uncertain future, a redesigned version of the launcher sporting a new name is set to loft 10 small Earth-imaging satellites into orbit…