Tag: Falcon Heavy

Space Force Launches GPS III SV06 Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

Inside Defense reports that the “Space Force successfully launched another Global Positioning System III-series satellite from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, the morning of Jan. 18 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.” The GPS III satellites, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, “provide up to three times greater accuracy and an eightfold increase in anti-jamming capabilities compared to earlier systems, Space Systems Command said in a press release.” In the release, Program Executive Officer for Military Communications & PNT Directorate Cordell DeLaPena Jr. said, “With the GPS III SV06 launch, GPS has accomplished another step towards Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT)’s overall mission of modernizing capabilities for our civilians and military users while maintaining the performance and resiliency of our existing architecture.
Full Story (Inside Defense)

 
 
 

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 launches the GPS III Space Vehicle 06 mission January 18th at 7:24 a.m. ET
(SpaceX; YouTube)

SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launches Classified Mission for US Space Force

Fox Business reports SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket “lifted off for the first time this year on Sunday” at 5:56 p.m. ET, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission, called USSF-67, delivered “a classified military payload to orbit for the United States Space Force.”  Approximately eight minutes after launch, the rocket’s “two side boosters disconnected and landed simultaneously at Cape Canaveral’s Landing Zones 1 and 2,” marking “the 163rd and 164th successful landings of an orbital-class rocket.” The mission also marked the fifth successful flight for SpaceX’s powerful Falcon Heavy rocket.
Full Story (Fox Business)
 
 
 

 

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A SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Sunday, January 15, at 5:56 p.m. EST
(SpaceX; YouTube)

Next SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launch Could Happen as Soon as Next Week

The Orlando Sentinel reports that for sheer rocket entertainment, “space fans can get excited whenever SpaceX’s powerful Falcon Heavy launches, and that next opportunity could come next week.” Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex “posted to its website an event to view the previously announced USSF-67 mission for the Space Force using the rocket that produces 5.1 million pounds of thrust on liftoff, launching from KSC’s Launch Complex 39-A.” The attraction offers “one of the closest locations to view the launch through an extra-cost package admission, and the listing targets no earlier than Thursday, Jan. 12, although neither SpaceX or the Space Force have yet to announce a target date or time beyond the intention to fly in January.”
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel – Subscription Publication)

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy Rocket Readies for Halloween Launch

CNET News reports, “The Falcon Heavy mission dubbed USSF 44 is the next launch on deck for pad 39-A at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, currently set for Oct. 31 at 9:44 a.m. ET (6:44 a.m. PT). The Space Force describes it as a classified mission.” The Falcon Heavy is the most powerful rocket ever launched, and will remain so until the Artemis I lifts off as scheduled in November of this year.
Full Story (CNET News)

SpaceX Falcon Heavy Could Launch This Month After Three-Year Wait

Spaceflight Now reports, “More than three years after SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket last blazed a path into orbit, the 28-engine launcher is finally set to fly again as soon as Oct. 28 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a long-delayed national security mission for the U.S. Space Force, a military spokesperson said.” The Falcon Heavy mission “is expected to be the next launch from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy following the liftoff Wednesday of a Falcon 9 rocket and a Dragon capsule carrying a crew of four to the International Space Station. SpaceX ground teams at pad 39A will prepare the pad for the Falcon Heavy, which has a different configuration than the Falcon 9 with three Falcon rocket boosters connected together to triple the launcher’s total thrust.” Spaceflight Now adds that the delay between Falcon Heavy launches is due to a lack of payloads for the rocket.
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

NASA Selects SpaceX Falcon Heavy for Next Space Telescope Launch

The Orlando (FL) Sentinel reports that with the “success of the James Webb Space Telescope images released this month, NASA is gearing up to send up yet more powerful hardware to capture next-generation images of the universe, and has chosen SpaceX for its ride.” The mission will see the “company’s Falcon Heavy launching the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to space from Kennedy Space Center on a mission targeting liftoff in October 2026.” The space telescope’s launch “was dubbed a top priority by the 2010 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey.” The telescope was previously known as the Wide Field InfraRed Survey Telescope.
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel – Subscription Publication)