Launching the U.S. Navy’s fifth MUOS mobile communications satellite, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket thundered away from Cape Canaveral today.
Photos by Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now
See earlier MUOS 5 coverage.
Our Atlas archive.
Delta 4
Live coverage: Delta 4 launches from California with spy satellite
United Launch Alliance kicked off its 2018 launch campaign with a Delta 4 rocket flight at 2:11 p.m. PST (5:11 p.m. EST; 2211 GMT) Friday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Gusty winds forced officials to call off a launch attempt Wednesday, and technical problems halted a countdown Thursday multiple times. The Delta 4 launched with a top secret spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Falcon 9
Live coverage: SpaceX’s second upgraded “Block 5” booster test-fired in Florida
SpaceX is preparing this week for the second flight of the upgraded “Block 5” version of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, and a hold-down firing of the booster was accomplished Wednesday at Cape Canaveral ahead of a middle-of-the-night launch this weekend with a Canadian-owned commercial communications satellite. The static fire test occurred at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) Wednesday.
News
ULA, Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman share Air Force rocket funding
The U.S. Air Force has committed $109 million in funding to advance development of new rockets designed by United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman, leaving out SpaceX in a government investment round that will lead to the military’s selection of two long-term launch providers in late 2019 or 2020.