Vandenberg Air Force Base Archives

Spy satellite successfully launched from California military base

Aerojet Rocketdyne, Delta 386, Delta 4, Delta 4 Heavy, Earth Observation, Launch, Military Space, Mission Reports, National Reconnaissance Office, News, NROL-82, RL10, RS-68A, Space Launch Complex 6, United Launch Alliance, Vandenberg Air Force Base, X Home Page Highlight / By SpaceUniversity

A Delta 4-Heavy rocket lifts off Monday from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: National Reconnaissance Office A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket climbed into orbit Monday from a military base northwest of Los Angeles, delivering to space a classified U.S. government spy satellite as large as a school bus …

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Photos: Delta 4-Heavy rocket awaits liftoff from historic SLC-6 launch pad

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket is awaiting liftoff with a classified U.S. government spy satellite at Vandenberg Air Force Base’s historic Space Launch Complex-6, a picturesque rocket facility that was once intended to support launches of military astronauts and space shuttles. These photos show the triple-body rocket, clad in orange thermal insulation, standing …

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One of ULA’s four remaining Delta 4 rockets set to launch from California

A Delta 4-Heavy rocket stands on Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Credit: United Launch Alliance United Launch Alliance ground crews on California’s Central Coast are gearing up to send a classified U.S. government spy satellite into orbit as soon as Monday — weather permitting — aboard one of the company’s …

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ULA, SpaceX split military launch contract awards

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Falcon 9, Launch, Military Space, National Reconnaissance Office, News, NROL-69, NSSL, Phase 2 Launch Service Procurement, Space and Missile Systems Center, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, US Space Force, USSF-112, USSF-36, USSF-87, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Vulcan, Vulcan Centaur, X Sidebar / By SpaceUniversity

Artist’s illustration of a Vulcan Centaur launch. Credit: United Launch Alliance The U.S. Space Force announced Tuesday that it awarded $384 million in contracts to United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, giving each company two missions to launch military satellites in 2023. United Launch Alliance won task orders for the USSF-112 and USSF-87 missions. Both launches …

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Launch of asteroid deflection demonstrator slips to November

ASI, Asteroids, CubeSats, DART, Deployable Space Systems, Didymos, Dimorphos, DRACO, Electric Propulsion, Falcon 9, Italy, JHUAPL, Launch, LICIACube, Mission Reports, NASA, News, NEXT-C, Planetary Defense, Planetary Science, Roll-Out Solar Array, Solar System, Space Launch Complex 4-East, SpaceX, Vandenberg Air Force Base / By SpaceUniversity

NASA’s DART spacecraft is prepared for thermal testing in February. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman The launch of a NASA spacecraft designed to smash into an asteroid to try out a technique that could protect Earth from threatening space rocks has slipped from July until November, at the earliest, after development delays partially caused by …

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Delta 4-Heavy rocket erected on Vandenberg launch pad

A Delta 4-Heavy rocket stands inside the mobile shelter on Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base ahead of liftoff later this spring. Credit: United Launch Alliance United Launch Alliance recently raised a Delta 4-Heavy rocket, one of four left in the company’s backlog, vertical on its launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base …

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