News Archive / Tagged: Department of Defense

• Fourth GPS satellite arrives safely in Florida

  Cullen DesforgesAugust 10th, 2020

  On July 14, the fourth satellite in the Global Positioning System III (GPS III) system arrived at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, for processing in preparation of its launch in September.

• ULA preparing for third launch of 2019

  Patrick AttwellAugust 7th, 2019

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- United Launch Alliance (ULA) is set to conduct its first Atlas V launch in nearly 10 months with the AEHF-5 mission. The flight marks a rare flight for a venerable rocket.

• Anomaly pushes Atlas launch back again

  Jason RhianJuly 11th, 2019

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla -- The launch of a ULA Atlas V rocket with the fifth AEHF satellite will have to wait a little longer before its flight.

• Gallery: Falcon Heavy pushes back the night on STP-2 flight

  Jason RhianJune 26th, 2019

  KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Although STP-2 didn't launch right on time, before the close of Monday's launch window - the job got done. History was seared into every inch of Florida's skies after the Falcon Heavy rocket left the pad at 2:30 a.m. EDT (06:30 GMT) on Tuesday, June 25.

• Starliner ‘at-sea’ crew rescue training exercise performed

  Derek RichardsonApril 24th, 2019

  NASA and the Department of Defense conducted a search and rescue training exercise for Boeing's Starliner spacecraft at the Army Wharf in Port Canaveral.

• Trump signs directive to create the US Space Force

  Derek RichardsonFebruary 20th, 2019

  A Space Force as a new branch of the U.S. military is one step closer to becoming a reality with the signing of a new space policy directive.

• NROL-71 kicks off ULA’s 2019 launch manifest

  Patrick AttwellJanuary 19th, 2019

  LOMPOC, Calif. — United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully completed its first flight of 2019. Today's launch utilized the largest rocket in the Colorado-based company's arsenal to send a classified payload into space. In doing so the company finally managed to move past a saga of delays.

• Classified: A review of US defense missions launched in 2018

  Patrick AttwellDecember 5th, 2018

  LOMPOC, Calif. -- 2018 has seen five payloads launched for the Department of Defense. Two of these missions were classified and one failed. With the upcoming flight of a ULA Delta Heavy with the NROL-71, SpaceFlight Insider takes a look back at the DoD's 2018 launch manifest.

• U.S. Navy accepts control of MUOS-5

  Paul KnightlyNovember 30th, 2017

  The Naval Satellite Operations Center (NAVSOC) has accepted operational control of MUOS-5 from Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy’s Communications Satellite Program Office.

• Space sector stable but still dwarfed by the aviation sector: AIA Vice President

  Tomasz NowakowskiJune 30th, 2017

  The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), a trade association representing leading aerospace and defense (A&D) companies in the U.S., has recently published its report entitled “2017 Facts & Figures”, which reveals key numbers about A&D industry’s economic impact. Among other things, the summary highlights the condition of the space systems sector as part of the A&D industry.

• Photo Gallery: X-37B lands at historic Shuttle Landing Facility

  Derek RichardsonMay 9th, 2017

  Heralding its arrival to Florida residents early Sunday morning with a sonic boom, the U.S. Air Force's secretive X-37B landed at Kennedy Space Center's historic Shuttle Landing Facility. Touchdown took place at about 7:47 a.m. EDT (11:47 GMT) May 7, 2017.

• 4th X-37B mission ends with first landing at Kennedy Space Center

  Derek RichardsonMay 7th, 2017

  KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — After nearly 21 months in orbit, the U.S. Air Force’s fourth X-37B mission concluded and returned to Earth for an automated landing at Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility – the first time that the secretive spaceplane has touched down on the historic runway.

• ULA prepares to launch WGS-8 satellite to bolster military communications

  Curt GodwinDecember 5th, 2016

  Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) is the latest in a constellation of military communications satellites. The eighth member of the WGS series, WGS-8 will soon join its predecessors in providing global communications capabilities to the United States military and its allies.

• Orbital ATK, SpaceX awarded contracts by U.S. Air Force

  Jason RhianJanuary 17th, 2016

  The U.S. Air Force announced on Wednesday, Jan. 13, that its Space and Missile Systems Center had awarded OTAs to two aerospace firms ‒ SpaceX and Orbital ATK. These agreements are for a shared public-private partnership to develop rocket propulsion systems prototypes. It is hoped these agreements will help to end U.S. dependence on foreign-made rocket engines.

• Report: Falcon 9 could be certified for DoD flights next month

  Jason RhianMay 12th, 2015

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla — A report appearing in the Air Force Times has stated that Space Exploration Technologies’ (SpaceX ) Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle could be certified to fly missions for the U.S. Department of Defense – as soon as next month (June). This could mark the close of a long-fought campaign to have the […]