45th Space Wing – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

Military officials committed to keeping Cape Canaveral open for launches

March 24, 2020 Stephen Clark

The military-run Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral remains ready to support upcoming launches — including an Atlas 5 flight Thursday — amid the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Tuesday.

Florida launch base to be renamed Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

February 8, 2020 Stephen Clark

The military-run spaceport at Cape Canaveral will soon be renamed Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to reflect the facility’s transition from the U.S. Air Force to the newly-created Space Force, military officials said Friday.

SpaceX’s brisk Starlink launch cadence to continue next week

January 14, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX plans to launch its next group of Starlink broadband satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket as soon as Tuesday, Jan. 21, from Cape Canaveral, two days after the company is scheduled to launch a modified Falcon 9 booster from a separate facility at the Florida spaceport to test the Crew Dragon spaceship’s emergency escape system.

Air Force’s Cape Canaveral commander excited for two launches in less than 36 hours

August 5, 2019 Stephen Clark

U.S. Air Force officials signed off Monday on a plan for SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, rivals in the launch services market, to fire off Falcon 9 and Atlas 5 rockets from neighboring launch pads at Cape Canaveral on Tuesday evening and Thursday morning.

Two launches on tap from Florida’s Space Coast this week

August 4, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral on Saturday evening, clearing the way for a delayed liftoff with the Israeli-owned Amos 17 commercial communications satellite as soon as Tuesday, assuming SpaceX can work its way into a busy schedule before a previously-planned Atlas 5 launch this week on the U.S. Air Force’s Eastern Range.

Relativity Space obtains Air Force approval for Cape Canaveral launch pad

January 18, 2019 Stephen Clark

Launch startup Relativity Space has won approval from the U.S. Air Force to take over a disused launch pad at Cape Canaveral for the company’s methane-fueled Terran 1 rocket, a 3D-printed launcher that could carry small satellites into orbit by the end of 2020.

Q&A with Tim Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Relativity Space (members only)

January 17, 2019 Stephen Clark

Relativity Space’s co-founder and chief executive says his company is working on innovations in manufacturing and rocket technology, and plans to use 3D printing at unprecedented scale in the space industry to ease access to space for a range of satellite operators, joining a fray of smallsat launchers saturating the market.

Towers at historic Florida launch pad toppled

July 12, 2018 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force on Thursday demolished towers once used to assemble Delta 2 rockets at Cape Canaveral for missions to Mars, four dozen flights to deploy the GPS navigation network, and numerous launches with scientific, commercial and military payloads.

End to government shutdown should limit impact on space operations

January 22, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA and the U.S. Air Force are expected to return to normal operations Tuesday after lawmakers passed a budget bill Monday evening, ending a government funding lapse that threatened to cut off live television coverage of an International Space Station spacewalk and interrupt SpaceX launch operations in Florida and California.

Live coverage: Irma knocks out power at Kennedy Space Center

September 8, 2017 Spaceflight Now

After making landfall in South Florida, Hurricane Irma moved north over the state before losing strength and being downgraded to a tropical storm. NASA safety officials report the Kennedy Space Center lost electricity and water pressure during the storm, but a team of emergency personnel at the spaceport is safe.