A SpaceX Falcon 9 blasted into partly cloudy skies over Cape Canaveral on Thursday, carrying into orbit the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B winged space plane on a mostly classified mission to test out new technologies in space and perform a range of experiments out of public view as part of the program’s fifth flight to space.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A at 14:00 UTC on September 7, 2017 – carrying into orbit the fifth mission of the U.S. Air Force X-37B space plane.
Keeping up the pace, SpaceX checked off the Static Fire Test for the company’s 13th launch of the year, aiming for a September 7 liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center with the U.S. Air Force X-37B space plane heading off on its fifth mission.
An Orbital ATK Minotaur IV rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 46, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:04 UTC on Saturday, August 26, 2017, carrying into orbit the ORS-5 mission for the U.S. Air Force.
Orbital ATK’s Minotaur rocket is set for its first launch from Cape Canaveral Friday night, tasked with carrying into orbit the ORS-5 mission for the U.S. Air Force comprising the SensorSat space surveillance spacecraft and three CubeSats riding shotgun with the primary payload.
United Launch Alliance won a $191 million launch contract over SpaceX in an open competition for the Space Test Program 3 mission of the U.S. Air Force, targeting launch in 2019 according to documentation released by the Air Force on Thursday.
The U.S. Air Force announced on Tuesday that the next mission of their X-37B reusable space plane would be launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in August.
The U.S. Air Force X-37B OTV-4 spacecraft on Saturday surpassed the record for the longest flight duration of any mission in the clandestine program, marking 675 days in orbit for the small winged space plane on its current mission reportedly dedicated to a series of technical demonstrations and space experiments.
Orbital ATK has begun the process of reviving Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 46 by stacking three Peacekeeper missile stages to demonstrate techniques for the assembly of the first Minotaur IV rocket to launch from the Cape this summer with an experimental satellite for the U.S. Air Force.
The ominous X-37B space plane operated in semi-secrecy by the U.S. Air Force may be approaching the end of its fourth mission, indicated by a move to a lower orbit earlier this month that has been a sure sign of an imminent landing on the craft’s first three missions.