 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
 by Staff Writers Miami (AFP) Jan 31, 2018
SpaceX on Wednesday blasted off a four-ton secure military communications satellite called GovSat-1, a partnership between the government of Luxembourg and the satellite operator SES. The prime minister and deputy prime minister of Luxembourg were in Florida for the launch, along with the prince and princess of Luxembourg, SpaceX said. "There you saw a successful liftoff of the Falcon 9," a SpaceX commentator said as the rocket launched on a sunny day from Cape Canaveral at 4:25 pm (2125 GMT). The satellite will enable "secure communication links between theaters of tactical operations, for maritime missions or over areas affected by humanitarian crises," said a SpaceX statement. GovSat-1 is bound for a distant, geostationary orbit and will support communications within Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It will also enable operations over the Atlantic and Indian oceans and the Mediterranean and Baltic seas. SpaceX did not attempt to land the first stage of the rocket after launch. The launch did however use a booster that flew last year. The California-based company headed by space and solar energy tycoon Elon Musk has landed 21 rockets after launch as part of its effort to re-use costly rocket parts and bring down the costs of spaceflight. Wednesday's launch comes three weeks after SpaceX blasted off a secretive US government payload, called Zuma. According to media reports, the satellite did not make it into orbit, though the Pentagon refused to elaborate on what happened. SpaceX said everything functioned fine with the rocket, and declined to comment further, citing national security concerns.
Falcon Heavy rocket ready for fueling, static fire test Washington (UPI) Jan 24, 2018 SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket - the self-proclaimed "most powerful rocked in the world" - is preparing to conduct a static fire test on Wednesday afternoon. The static test will feature the ignition of all 27 engines at once. The engine test must prove successful before the aerospace company can proceed with the inaugural test flight of Falcon Heavy, originally scheduled for late January. The massive rocket is currently on its launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But be ... read more
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
