Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the first 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet.
The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket will lift off Saturday at 9:54:39 a.m. PST (12:54:39 p.m. EST; 1754:39 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 1:47 p.m. PDT (4:47 p.m. EDT; 2047 GMT) Monday with a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office, the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency.
Blue Origin, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic representatives all called for improvements to the regulatory framework that governs spaceflight operations during a Senate subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023.
Track the major events during the Minotaur 4 rocket’s 28-minute climb into a unique equatorial orbit with the ORS-5 space surveillance satellite for the U.S. military’s Operationally Responsive Space office.