
@SpaceX has successfully launched #NROL108 for @NatReconOfc, its first national security launch on a previously-flown #Falcon9. […]
|
||||
![]() Atlas V lifts off from Cape Canaveral with the X-37B OTV spaceplane on the USSF-7 mission. Credit: ULA Following a one-day scrub on Saturday, United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully despatched its third Atlas V of the year early Sunday, 17 May, to deliver the highly secretive X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) mini-shuttle into low-Earth […] ![]() The “America Strong” livery hangs in pride of place as the Atlas V for Saturday’s USSF-7 mission arrives at the pad early Thursday, 14 May. The America Strong banner is dedicated to the memory of COVID-19 victims and as a tribute to first-responders, front-line workers and healthcare personnel. Photo Credit: ULA A United Launch […] ![]() The X-37B mini-shuttle (left) has flown five missions since April 2010. Its sixth flight, which kicks off NET Saturday, 16 May, promises to be its most ambitious yet. At right, the Common Core Booster (CCB) is raised to the vertical in the doorway of the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41. […] ![]() OTV-5 launch. Photo: SpaceX This morning SpaceX launched the Air Force’s reusable X-37B ‘mini shuttle” Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) from KSC launch pad 39A, putting the vehicle on orbit and bringing the rocket’s first stage booster back to Earth for another successful landing on “Landing Zone 1” just a few miles south of […] The Air Force’s AFSPC-5 payload, encapsulated inside a 5-meter diameter payload fairing, is mated to an Atlas V booster inside the Vertical Integration Facility or VIF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex-41. Photo Credit: ULA The rocket tasked with launching the next mission from Cape Canaveral, Fla., is well into […] Recovery crew members process the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle at Vandenberg Air Force Base after completing 674 days in space. A total of three X-37B missions have been completed, totaling 1,367 days on orbit. The X-37B will be equipped with a NASA materials exposure experiment with nearly 100 samples focusing on polymers, composites, […] AND IT’S OFF: A Vega launch vehicle lofts ESA’s IXV spaceplane to its suborbital mission. Photo Credit: ESA–S. Corvaja It wasn’t Superman, but a spaceplane; however, it sure appeared to travel “faster than a speeding bullet,” as it cleared the pad in four seconds. At 13:40 GMT (8:40 EST) today, the flight of […] Fueling IXV: “The IXV Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle is being prepared for launch at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. IXV will be launched 320 km into space on top of a Vega rocket, climbing up to 420 km before beginning a long glide back through the atmosphere. In the process, IXV will gather […] Recovery crew members process the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle at Vandenberg Air Force Base after completing 674 days in space. A total of three X-37B missions have been completed, totaling 1,367 days on orbit. Photo Credit: Boeing The U.S. Air Force’s mysterious X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) ended its third secretive mission today, […] |