Astrobotic has unveiled a lunar testing ground to help prepare for a range of coming moon missions. The roughly 330-by-330-foot (100 by 100 meters) Lunar Surface Proving Ground (LSPG) in Mojave, California, is a high-fidelity 3D test field that replicates conditions on the moon. The LSPG, modeled using Astrobotic’s LunaRay tools, simulates lunar topography and […]
Tag: Missions
ULA delays Dream Chaser space plane launch to certify Vulcan Centaur rocket for US military missions
Dream Chaser will wait again for its first flight to space. The Dream Chaser spaceplane from Sierra Space will not launch this summer as planned aboard United Launch Alliance‘s (ULA) new Vulcan Centaur rocket. That means ULA plans to press ahead with two critical national security preparation launches that must be finished by the end […]
F-15EX Testers Are Now Preparing The Eagle II For Rapidly Adapting To New Missions
The U.S. Air Force is eyeing a wide range of possible non-traditional missions for the Boeing F-15EX Eagle II, its latest fighter aircraft. Those future missions could include operating the F-15EX as a command and control node, a platform for outsized weapons, and potentially as a key enabler in the service’s concepts for manned-unmanned teaming. […]
SpaceX launches Starlink missions in spaceflight doubleheader (video, photos)
SpaceX pulled off another spaceflight doubleheader on Sunday (June 23). The company launched two batches of its Starlink internet satellites Sunday, sending them aloft atop Falcon 9 rockets from both U.S. coasts. The first leg kicked off at 1:15 p.m. EDT (1715 GMT), when a Falcon 9 topped with 22 Starlink craft lifted off from […]
Philippines to continue South China Sea resupply missions, Defense Sec says
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines will continue with resupply missions to troops on an atoll in a disputed part of the South China Sea despite Chinese coast guard vessels deliberately disrupting a mission last week, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Monday. “It was not a misunderstanding or an accident,” Teodoro told a press conference […]
SpaceX switches up missions to set up Cape Canaveral launch tonight
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — It’s been 11 days since SpaceX last lit up the Space Coast sky with a rocket launch, the longest run between launches in more than a year. It’s not for a lack of trying, though, but bad weather and a scrub as the countdown clock hit 0 last week led to […]
Boeing Starliner and SpaceX Starship missions both hit spaceflight milestones this week
Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. Events in space don’t often unfold like they do in the movies. But the journey of a spacecraft can provide awe-inspiring views and surprising moments more spectacular than fiction. SpaceX stacked […]
The 4 most dangerous missions American troops carried out 80 years ago on D-Day
The D-Day invasion was the largest seaborne invasion in history and a turning point in World War II. By the end of the Normandy campaign, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians had been killed or wounded. The greatest risks were borne by American troops who arrived in the first wave, seized clifftop artillery, and […]
SpaceX launches first of back-to-back Starlink missions Wednesday from Cape Canaveral
With an on time liftoff of 10:35 p.m. EDT, a Falcon 9 rocket soared off the launch pad, illuminating the calm night sky over Cape Canaveral. It’s payload: Starlink 6-62, which is the mission name for this batch of 23 Starlink satellites. The rocket soared into the night on a southeast trajectory as it gave […]
Ukraine’s pilots are flying high-risk ‘wild weasel’ missions first developed in the Vietnam War by the USAF, says defense analyst
Ukrainian pilots fly dangerous “wild weasel” missions to suppress Russian air defenses. Advanced US-supplied missiles have played a critical role in these missions. The arrival of F-16 fighter jets will help level out Russia’s air superiority. Pilots in Ukraine’s Soviet-era airforce, a fraction of the size of Russia’s, are using a tactic first developed by […]
Former generals warn of more Guard use in domestic, political missions
The uptick of non-traditional or politically charged missions presents problems for troops, four retired National Guard generals said at an event on Monday that was put on by the Brookings Institution and Count Every Hero in Washington, D.C. Panelists argued that deploying the National Guard for some state missions, while Guardsmen are in state active […]
India aims to achieve ‘debris-free’ space missions by 2030
In late March, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that one of its satellite missions “practically left zero debris in orbit” after a spent rocket stage was lowered to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere during re-entry. Similar deorbiting techniques will be used to make future missions “debris-free” by the end of this decade, ISRO […]