Falcon 9
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Spaceflight to Help Launch Air Force Microsatellite for Space Situational Awareness Experiment
Spaceflight will fly a microsatellite for the Air Force Research Laboratory via a rideshare service with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket as part of a mission to send a commercial communciations satellite built by Maxar Technologies’ SSL business into orbit, SpaceNews reported Friday.
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in General
SpaceX Tests Falcon 9 Rocket ‘Crew Dragon’ Demo Flight
SpaceX conducted a static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft Thursday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Space.com reported Friday.
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Iridium Launches ‘Certus’ Broadband Service; Matt Desch Quoted
Iridium Communications has unveiled its L-band broadband service powered by the company’s $3B Iridium NEXT satellite network. The company said Wednesday initial activations of the Iridium Certus service kicked off in December 2018 for terrestrial and maritime applications with the aviation service expected later this year once certification is secured.
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Final Iridium NEXT Satellite Batch Launches Aboard SpaceX Rocket; Matt Desch Quoted
Iridium Communications’ final and eighth batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites launched Friday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard SpaceX’s previously flown Falcon 9 rocket. Iridium said Friday the satellites, which were fielded to orbital plane three, established communications with its satellite network operations facility after launch and are set to enter the first on-orbit testing phase.
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in News
SpaceX, NASA Delay Demo-1 Test Flight to February at the Earliest
The SpaceX Demo-1 uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station has been pushed back once again to make room for additional hardware testing and reviews. NASA and SpaceX have yet to specify a new launch date, but the U.S. space agency said Thursday that the rescheduled test flight will take place “no earlier than Februaryâ€.
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in News
Matt Desch Eyes Final Launch of Iridium Next Satellites on Jan. 11
Iridium Communications CEO Matt Desch has expressed confidence that SpaceX will stage its final launch of the Iridium Next communications satellites on Friday following delays in the project, Space.com reported Wednesday.
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in Featured, General, General News, News, Space News
Matt Desch: Rideshare Opportunity Could Prompt Iridium to Launch Spare ‘NEXT’ Satellites
Iridium Communications CEO Matt Desch has said the company could opt to send the six ground spare satellites for the Iridium NEXT constellation should an opportunity for a rideshare mission arise, SpaceNews reported Thursday. “If the right deal comes along, similar to the one that we had with Iridium-6 and the rideshare that we had with […] More
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in News, Space News
ULA Sets New Target Launch Date for National Reconnaissance Office Payload
United Launch Alliance plans to launch no earlier than Sunday, Jan. 6, a National Reconnaissance Office payload aboard its Delta IV Heavy rocket, Spaceflight Now reported Friday. The report said engineers have begun to address a small hydrogen leak in the engine section discovered during the Dec. 19 launch attempt. The NROL-71 was originally scheduled to lift […] More
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in C4ISR News, News
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Sends First Lockheed-Built GPS III Satellite to Orbit; Johnathon Caldwell Quoted
The first GPS III satellite that Lockheed Martin built for the U.S. Air Force took off Sunday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. GPS III Space Vehicle 01 established communications with the defense contractor’s launch-and-checkout facility in Denver nearly two hours after launch, Lockheed said Sunday. “In the coming days, GPS […] More
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in C4ISR News, Featured, General, General News, News
Raytheon’s Ground Control System Backs First USAF GPS III Satellite Launch; Dave Wajsgras Quoted
A Raytheon-built ground control platform has supported the launch of the U.S. Air Force’s first GPS III satellite. Raytheon said Sunday the GPS Next-Generation Operational Control System will help steer the GPS III Space Vehicle 01 to its final orbit for approximately 10 days. “The GPS OCX Block 0 launch and checkout system is foundational to […] More
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in C4ISR News, News
Lockheed Encapsulates Air Force’s First GPS III Satellite
Lockheed Martin has finished encapsulation of the first GPS III satellite the company has built for the U.S. Air Force as part of pre-launch preparations at a facility in Titusville, Fla. GPS III Space Vehicle 01 is scheduled to lift off Dec. 18 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Lockheed said Tuesday. The satellite, […] More