News Archive / Tagged: U.S. Air Force

• 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.

• Launched in January, SBIRS GEO-3 reaches operational status

  Joe LatrellSeptember 17th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — GEO-3, the latest Geosynchronous Earth Orbit satellite in the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) constellation, has achieved operational acceptance from the U.S. Air Force Space Command.

• Gallery: Canaveral’s SLC-17 demolished

  Jason RhianJuly 12th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.  — The launch structures at Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 17 (pads A and B) were demolished on Thursday, July 12 2018. SpaceFlight Insider's Mike Howard captured this historic event in photos.

• Trump calls for creation of ‘Space Force’

  Jim SharkeyJune 22nd, 2018

  During a meeting of the National Space Council at the White House on June 18, 2018, President Donald Trump announced he was ordering the creation of a sixth branch of the U.S. military - to focus on space.

• Tiangong-1 re-enters atmosphere, burns up over South Pacific

  Tomasz NowakowskiApril 2nd, 2018

  China’s Tiangong-1 space laboratory is now in the history books after it burned up almost entirely on re-entry above the southern Pacific Ocean. While most parts of the defunct station are believed to have burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere, some pieces may have survived and plummeted into the water.

• ULA Atlas V 411 lights up the night with SBIRS GEO 4 launch

  Bart LeahyJanuary 19th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- United Launch Alliance (ULA) saw its launch window open at 7:48 p.m. Eastern (00:48 GMT on Jan. 20) and soon thereafter sent its Atlas V rocket thundering into the Florida sky. The payload, the fourth geosynchronous satellite in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Space Based Infrared Sensor (SBIRS) program, is now headed for geosynchronous orbit.

• ULA readies for U.S. Air Force SBIRS GEO 4 launch

  Bart LeahyJanuary 16th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- After a slight delay from late 2017, United Launch Alliance is readying an Atlas V 411 to launch the fourth geosynchronous element of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Space Based Infrared Sensor (SBIRS) program. The launch, is currently set to take place from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) Space Launch Complex (SLC) 41 on January 18.

• Lockheed Martin completes assembly of third GPS III satellite

  Bart LeahyNovember 30th, 2017

  Using its advanced cleanroom facility near Denver, Colorado, Lockheed Martin has fully assembled the third of its ten contracted third-generation Global Positioning System (GPS III) satellites. Lockheed Martin did not state an official delivery date for the spacecraft, dubbed GPS III Space Vehicle 03 (GPS III SV03).

• 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.

• U.S Air Force awards SpaceX $96.5M contract to launch GPS III satellite

  Bart LeahyMarch 16th, 2017

  HAWTHORNE, Calif. — For the second time in two years, Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has been awarded a contract to launch a payload for the U.S. Department of Defense. This award is a vote of confidence in SpaceX’s ongoing launch operations.

• Traffic Jam: Space Coast could see 3 launches in 8 days

  Bart LeahyMarch 12th, 2017

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Three different rockets are expected to take to the skies from the Space Coast in as little as eight days. March 2017 is expected to be a busy month in a year that could see as many as 30 rockets lift off from one of the busiest spaceports in the world.

• Launch of Delta IV with WGS-9 delayed

  Jason RhianMarch 4th, 2017

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Colorado-based United Launch Alliance (ULA) uncovered an issue with the Delta IV Medium+ (5,4) rocket tasked with sending the ninth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS-9) satellite to orbit. This has caused the flight to be delayed.