US Space Force – Page 4 – Spaceflight Now

ULA’s Delta 4-Heavy ready for another launch attempt after pad repairs

December 9, 2020 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance is set to try again to launch a Delta 4-Heavy rocket and a classified U.S. government spy satellite Thursday after delays of more than three months caused by persistent issues with the mission’s launch pad.

SpaceX launches GPS navigation satellite from Cape Canaveral

November 6, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Thursday from Cape Canaveral with the U.S. Space Force’s newest third-generation Global Positioning System navigation satellite, helping clear the way for the launch of SpaceX’s first operational Crew Dragon astronaut mission later this month.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches GPS satellite

November 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:24 p.m. EST (2324 GMT) Thursday with the U.S. military’s next GPS navigation satellite. The mission was delayed more than a month after a previous countdown was aborted seconds before liftoff.

SpaceX test-fires Falcon 9 rocket before GPS launch

October 31, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral on Saturday in a pre-flight checkout designed to verify the launcher’s engines are ready to loft a U.S. military GPS navigation satellite into orbit Nov. 5. An engine problem forced SpaceX to abort a launch attempt in early October.

SpaceX traces engine problem to blocked valve ahead of November crew launch

October 28, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is replacing two engines on the Falcon 9 booster set to launch four astronauts next month on the company’s first operational Crew Dragon flight to the International Space Station, following an investigation that revealed a subcontractor failed to adequately clean out narrow vent ports on multiple engines across the company’s fleet, officials said Wednesday.

SpaceX crew launch set for Nov. 14

October 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

After a two-week delay to evaluate a concern with Falcon 9 rocket engines, NASA and SpaceX have set Nov. 14 as the target launch date for the first operational Crew Dragon flight to the International Space Station, kicking off a half-year expedition in orbit for three U.S. astronauts and a veteran Japanese space flier.

SpaceX aborts liftoff of GPS satellite, continuing streak of launch scrubs

October 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

For the fourth time this week, a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral was stopped with seconds remaining in the countdown Friday night, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket automatically aborted its liftoff with a new GPS navigation satellite during the engine startup sequence.

Space Force announces new nicknames for GPS satellites

October 2, 2020 Stephen Clark

The Space Force says it changed the nickname of a GPS navigation satellite launched in June from Columbus to instead honor Matthew Henson, a Black explorer on the first expedition to the North Pole more than a century ago, “to acknowledge a fuller history of courageous explorers and pioneers.” The military’s next GPS navigation satellite, set for launch Friday night, is nicknamed Sacagawea.

Falcon 9 launch timeline with the GPS 3 SV04 navigation satellite

October 2, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Nov. 5 carrying the U.S. Air Force’s next GPS 3-series navigation satellite destined for an orbit more than 12,000 miles above Earth.

Live coverage: SpaceX aborts launch of GPS satellite

October 2, 2020 Stephen Clark

The U.S. military’s next GPS navigation satellite was ready for launch from Cape Canaveral at 9:43 p.m. EDT Friday (0143 GMT Saturday) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. But SpaceX aborted the countdown just two seconds prior to liftoff.