Category: US Air Force

NASA unveils spaceship hatch 50 years after fatal Apollo 1 fire

NASA has marked the 50th anniversary of its Moon program’s fatal Apollo launch pad fire with the first public display of the scorched hatch that trapped three astronauts inside their spaceship during a routine pre-launch test. NASA astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee died when thick smoke filled the crew module of the Apollo 1 capsule on January 27, 1967, in what was the first deadly accident in the space agency’s early days.

Air Force photograph by Staff Sgt. Peter Thompson

The 33rd Fighter Wing loaded and released the Air Education and Training Command’s first live bombs from an F-35A. The 33rd Fighter Wing loaded and released the Air Education and Training Command’s first live bombs from an F-35A at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Jan. 17, 2017.

Ramping Up For ADS-B

Pilots who fly in Southern California’s busy airspace will soon be expected to follow new procedures, so the FAA has planned a… While we were preparing to shut down at a tie down spot at Henderson Airport, Las Vegas, ground control was directing a taxiing Piper …… In the Flytenow case, the FAA applied old thinking that doesn’t work in a world where technology moves at the speed of heat. They’ve moldered on my office shelf, unused, for more than a decade.

Aireon Launch Begins New Era for Satellite-Based Aircraft Surveillance

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Saturday placed the first 10 Iridium Next satellites into low-Earth orbit, each with an Aerion cargo package carrying an ADS-B receiver. The launch represents the first successful effort in space to create Aireon’s global ADS-B-based aircraft-tracking system expected to be operational by the second quarter of 2018.

SpaceX successfully launches rocket, deploys ten satellites

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SpaceX launches first rocket since explosion in Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from California on Saturday and placed a constellation of satellites in orbit, marking the company’s first launch since a fireball engulfed a similar rocket on a Florida launch pad more than four months ago. The two-stage rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 9:54 a.m. carrying a payload for Iridium Communications Inc., which is replacing its entire global network with 70 next-generation satellites.

SpaceX nailed its first launch since last year’s big explosion

Early Saturday morning Jan. 14, SpaceX successfully launched ten communication satellites made by Iridium – one of its largest satellite customers – into low earth orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The mission, part of a larger effort to replace at least 70 of Iridium’s satellites by 2018, was a much-needed positive start to what should be a busy year for SpaceX.

SpaceX launches 1st rocket since explosion in Florida

The SpaceX Falcon rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from California on Saturday and placed a constellation of satellites in orbit, marking the company’s first launch since a fireball engulfed a similar rocket on a Florida launch pad more than four months ago.

SpaceX completes first successful launch since explosion

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from California on Saturday and placed a constellation of satellites in orbit, marking the company’s first launch since a fireball engulfed a similar rocket on a Florida launch pad more than four months ago. The two-stage rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 9:54 a.m. carrying a payload for Iridium Communications Inc., which is replacing its entire global network with 70 next-generation satellites.

SpaceX launches 10 satellites aboard Falcon 9 rocket

SpaceX Falcon rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, U.S., January 14, 2017. REUTERS/Gene Blevins A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 10 satellites was launched into orbit Saturday morning and landed its first-stage booster on a drone ship in its first launch since a September explosion.

SpaceX launches first rocket since explosion in Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from California on Saturday and placed a constellation of satellites in orbit, marking the company’s first launch since a fireball engulfed a similar rocket on a Florida launch pad more than four months ago. The two-stage rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 9:54 a.m. carrying a payload for Iridium Communications Inc., which is replacing its entire global network with 70 next-generation satellites.

.com | SpaceX launches, lands rocket for first time since Sept blast

SpaceX blasted off its Falcon 9 rocket on Saturday, marking its first return to flight since a costly and complicated launchpad explosion in September. “Liftoff of the Falcon 9,” a SpaceX commentator said as the tall white rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 09:54 , carrying a payload of 10 satellites for Iridium, a mobile and data communications company.

SpaceX Launches First Rocket Since Explosion

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from California on Saturday and placed a constellation of satellites in orbit, marking the company’s first launch since a fireball engulfed a similar rocket on a Florida launch pad more than four months ago. The two-stage rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 9:54 a.m. carrying a payload for Iridium Communications Inc., which is replacing its entire global network with 70 next-generation satellites.

SpaceX counts down to first launch after rocket explosion

Accident investigators determined that a canister of helium burst inside the rocket’s second-stage liquid oxygen tank, triggering the explosion. SpaceX plans to blast off a rocket on Saturday for the first time since a launch pad explosion in the fall sidetracked the ambitious flight plans of company founder and entrepreneur Elon Musk.

Energy assurance is critical to Air Force missions

Imagine that you’re looking at the camera feed of an MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft-commonly known as a “drone,” but which we in the Air Force call an “RPA”-flying somewhere in the Middle East and tracking a known member of an international terrorist organization. This aircraft is controlled by a pilot at an Air Force Base in the United States.

SpaceX rocket launch delayed a week by poor weather – CNET

The company had planned to resume liftoffs on Sunday after finishing its investigation into the spectacular explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket in September. But inclement weather in California has forced the rocket’s launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base outside of Los Angeles to be delayed until at least January 14, SpaceX said in a tweet Sunday morning.

Scotland poised to reap benefits of private space travel

IT was an arena where the great powers once fought it out without coming to blows, a hot zone in a cold war where the rockets were instruments of peace and exploration instead of violence. But this week a private company will boldly go back into space as the march to claim the skies from government agencies continues apace.

Photograph courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution

Sharing memories that seemed as fresh today as the events that happened nearly 30 years ago,friends and fans gathered in the Voyager Restaurant at the Mojave Air and Space Port Dec. 17 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the unrefueled and non-stop, around-the-world, record setting flight of the Voyager experimental airplane. Gathered around packed tables, there was barely standing room as they listened to Voyager pilot Dick Rutan, his brother Burt, designer of Voyager, and the world’s first civilian astronaut Mike Melvill and his wife Sally Melvill, as they shared their memories of the historic flight.

Photograph courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution

Sharing memories that seemed as fresh today as the events that happened nearly 30 years ago,friends and fans gathered in the Voyager Restaurant at the Mojave Air and Space Port Dec. 17 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the unrefueled and non-stop, around-the-world, record setting flight of the Voyager experimental airplane. Gathered around packed tables, there was barely standing room as they listened to Voyager pilot Dick Rutan, his brother Burt, designer of Voyager, and the world’s first civilian astronaut Mike Melvill and his wife Sally Melvill, as they shared their memories of the historic flight.

Elon Musk says SpaceX ready for launch, but FAA isn’t

SpaceX has test fired the engines for its scheduled launch next week, the first time the aerospace manufacturer will try to launch a Falcon 9 rocket since a devastating September explosion. “The FAA has not yet issued a license to SpaceX for a launch in January,” the Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday.

SpaceX aims for January 8 return to flight with Falcon rocket

Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to resume flying rockets next week following an investigation into why one of them burst into flames on a launch pad four months ago, the company said on Monday. In a statement, SpaceX said it expected to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base on Jan. 8 to put 10 satellites into orbit for Iridium Communications Inc. SpaceX had suspended flights after the same model rocket went up in a blaze on Sept.

SpaceX aims for Jan. 8 return to flight with Falcon rocket

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.: Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to resume flying rockets next week following an investigation into why one of them burst into flames on a launch pad four months ago, the company said on Monday. In a statement, SpaceX said it expected to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base on Jan. 8 to put 10 satellites into orbit for Iridium Communications Inc. SpaceX had suspended flights after the same model rocket went up in a blaze on Sept.

NASA’s Favorite Photos of 2016

There are a group of unsung heroes at NASA, the people who travel the world to capture key events in our exploration of space. They share their images with all of us, but most of the time, it’s not just the pictures of launches, landings, and crucial mission events that they capture.

NASA photograph

This artist’s concept of NASA’s X-57 Maxwell aircraft shows the plane’s specially designed wing and 14 electric motors. NASA Aeronautics researchers will use the X-57 to demonstrate that electric propulsion can make planes quieter, more efficient and more environmentally friendly.

Mojave a ” thinking outside the box

Doug Scroggins of Scroggins Aviation works on block buster movies often using old planes from Mojave’s boneyard. His helicopter built for the film Jurassic World, was part of the second highest grossing film until Star Wars bumped it out.

Air Force Test Center

In 2012, Air Force Materiel Command redesignated the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., as the Air Force Test Center. As the AFTC, the center assumed responsibility for the 412th Test Wing at Edwards, the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and the Arnold Engineering Development Complex at Arnold AFB, Tenn.