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Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Science
- Miami Herald
SpaceX scoops up another national security launch while ULA faces scrutiny
United Launch Alliance's years-long delays with its new Vulcan rocket have flipped the script for national security missions, making SpaceX the new reliable provider. The shift to Elon Musk's company at the detriment to ULA's bottom line is on the pad again Friday with a SpaceX Falcon 9 set to launch the GPS III-7 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 during a window from 1:23-1:38 p.m., with a backup date on Saturday from 1:18-1:34 p.m. Space Launch Delta 45's weather squadron forecasts only a 45% chance for good conditions Friday, which only improves to 50% on Saturday. The mission to launch a GPS satellite is the second that was originally awarded to ULA but transferred to SpaceX under the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contract. Originally assigned to ULA's Vulcan, both a December 2024 launch and now this one were shifted to Falcon 9 as ULA faced an extended delay in certification of its replacement for both its Atlas V and Delta IV class of rockets. While called the GPS III-7 mission, it's actually flying the eighth of 10 satellites constructed by Lockheed Martin to add to the U.S.'s GPS capability in space. It's also part of an accelerated mission timeline laid out by the Space Force for national security missions in which payloads get to space in under three months from the decision to go, compared to the normal turnaround that can take up to 24 months. "It highlights another instance of the Space Force's ability to complete high priority launches on a rapid timescale, which demonstrates the capability to respond to emergent constellation needs as rapidly as space vehicle readiness allows," said Space Force Col. Jim Horne, senior materiel leader of launch execution with the Assured Access to Space program. The latest GPS satellites are three times more accurate and eight times more resistant to jamming than the other 38 in space already, according to the Space Force. The Department of Defense's desire to launch more effective GPS hardware, less susceptible to interference, forced the switch to SpaceX in both missions. The NSSL Phase 2 contract, which featured five years' worth of task orders announced from 2020-2024, was originally announced to give ULA 60% of the assignments. All of those were supposed to fly on Vulcan, with its first launches to be completed by summer 2022. But as Vulcan faced myriad delays, the final spate of task orders ended up putting 26 missions on ULA's plate to SpaceX's 22. Now another two of those missions have swapped from ULA to SpaceX, although the Space Force has said ULA will get back two future missions previously assigned to SpaceX. To date, ULA has only managed to fly one of those 26 missions, and that wasn't on a Vulcan. Instead ULA was forced to use one of its few remaining Atlas V rockets, which flew last summer. ULA, which is a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin that formed in 2006, had originally been targeting mid-2020 for Vulcan's debut. But it faced hurdles from COVID, acquisition of engines from supplier Blue Origin, delays from customer payloads and even a fiery test stand incident that all contributed to a nearly four-year slide. It flew for the first time in January 2024, but not again until that October, both as part of ULA's efforts to get national security certification. An issue with a solid rocket booster motor detaching during launch on the second flight, though, delayed that certification until March 2025. At this point, the first national security launch on Vulcan won't be until at least July, according to Major Gen. Stephen G. Purdy, the acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration. Purdy, a former head of Space Launch Delta 45 based at Patrick Space Force Base, raised concerns about ULA's delays during written testimony released earlier this month to the U.S. House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. "In NSSL Phase 2, the ULA Vulcan program has performed unsatisfactorily this past year," he wrote. "Major issues with the Vulcan have overshadowed its successful certification resulting in delays to the launch of four national security missions. Despite the retirement of highly successful Atlas and Delta launch vehicles, the transition to Vulcan has been slow and continues to impact the completion of Space Force mission objectives." Vulcan's certification is at the point only partial, having only been signed off for five of the Space Force's nine required orbital needs, Purdy said. He did said ULA has increased its "engineering resources and management focus to resolve design issues" while government personnel have been more involved with both technical and program management. Purdy said ULA's first national security launch on Vulcan will be USSF-106. The payload, Navigation Technology Satellite-3, is headed to geostationary orbit. Built by L3Harris, it's funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory and a potential replacement technology for GPS. It was one of two task orders given to ULA in 2020 with a value of $337 million. The other, USSF-51, was the one that launched last summer on an Atlas V. With ULA dealing with a backlog of the Phase 2 contract missions, the company's piece of the next pie got smaller. Earlier this year, the Space Force announced SpaceX, not ULA, would get the majority of the Phase 3 contracts with a total of $13.7 billion to be doled out over the next five years. SpaceX would receive 28 of 54 planned missions, or 52%. Meanwhile, ULA's take is only 19 missions, or 35%, while newcomer Blue Origin would get seven, or 13%. Purdy confirmed ULA had already lost out on some Phase 3 contracts because of the Vulcan delays, and addressed what he deemed to be ULA's marching orders along with other commercial providers that have fallen short on delivery to the government. "For these programs, the prime contractors must re-establish baselines, establish a culture of accountability, and repair trust deficit to prove to (me) that they are adopting the acquisition principles necessary to deliver capabilities at speed, on cost and on schedule," he said. ULA meanwhile is dipping its toes back into launches, lining up only its second planned mission of the year, a commercial launch for customer Amazon using another of its remaining Atlas V rockets. Following the April launch of the first mission for Amazon's Project Kuiper, an internet satellite constellation that aims to compete with SpaceX's Starlink system, the second mission is targeting liftoff no earlier than June 13. Meanwhile, SpaceX has already flown its Falcon 9 on 64 missions this year, including 43 from the Space Coast. ------------- Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
SpaceX scoops up another national security launch while ULA faces scrutiny
United Launch Alliance's years-long delays with its new Vulcan rocket have flipped the script for national security missions, making SpaceX the new reliable provider. The shift to Elon Musk's company at the detriment to ULA's bottom line is on the pad again Friday with a SpaceX Falcon 9 set to launch the GPS III-7 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 during a window from 1:23-1:38 p.m., with a backup date on Saturday from 1:18-1:34 p.m. Space Launch Delta 45's weather squadron forecasts only a 45% chance for good conditions Friday, which only improves to 50% on Saturday. The mission to launch a GPS satellite is the second that was originally awarded to ULA but transferred to SpaceX under the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contract. Originally assigned to ULA's Vulcan, both a December 2024 launch and now this one were shifted to Falcon 9 as ULA faced an extended delay in certification of its replacement for both its Atlas V and Delta IV class of rockets. While called the GPS III-7 mission, it's actually flying the eighth of 10 satellites constructed by Lockheed Martin to add to the U.S.'s GPS capability in space. It's also part of an accelerated mission timeline laid out by the Space Force for national security missions in which payloads get to space in under three months from the decision to go, compared to the normal turnaround that can take up to 24 months. 'It highlights another instance of the Space Force's ability to complete high priority launches on a rapid timescale, which demonstrates the capability to respond to emergent constellation needs as rapidly as space vehicle readiness allows,' said Space Force Col. Jim Horne, senior materiel leader of launch execution with the Assured Access to Space program. The latest GPS satellites are three times more accurate and eight times more resistant to jamming than the other 38 in space already, according to the Space Force. The Department of Defense's desire to launch more effective GPS hardware, less susceptible to interference, forced the switch to SpaceX in both missions. The NSSL Phase 2 contract, which featured five years' worth of task orders announced from 2020-2024, was originally announced to give ULA 60% of the assignments. All of those were supposed to fly on Vulcan, with its first launches to be completed by summer 2022. Northrop Grumman doubles down on new rocket investment with Firefly Astronomers discover strange new celestial object in our Milky Way galaxy SpaceX gets back to work with Falcon 9 launch from KSC Space Coast launch schedule Get ready for several years of killer heat, top weather forecasters warn But as Vulcan faced myriad delays, the final spate of task orders ended up putting 26 missions on ULA's plate to SpaceX's 22. Now another two of those missions have swapped from ULA to SpaceX, although the Space Force has said ULA will get back two future missions previously assigned to SpaceX. To date, ULA has only managed to fly one of those 26 missions, and that wasn't on a Vulcan. Instead ULA was forced to use one of its few remaining Atlas V rockets, which flew last summer. ULA, which is a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin that formed in 2006, had originally been targeting mid-2020 for Vulcan's debut. But it faced hurdles from COVID, acquisition of engines from supplier Blue Origin, delays from customer payloads and even a fiery test stand incident that all contributed to a nearly four-year slide. It flew for the first time in January 2024, but not again until that October, both as part of ULA's efforts to get national security certification. An issue with a solid rocket booster motor detaching during launch on the second flight, though, delayed that certification until March 2025. At this point, the first national security launch on Vulcan won't be until at least July, according to Major Gen. Stephen G. Purdy, the acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration. Purdy, a former head of Space Launch Delta 45 based at Patrick Space Force Base, raised concerns about ULA's delays during written testimony released earlier this month to the U.S. House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. 'In NSSL Phase 2, the ULA Vulcan program has performed unsatisfactorily this past year,' he wrote. 'Major issues with the Vulcan have overshadowed its successful certification resulting in delays to the launch of four national security missions. Despite the retirement of highly successful Atlas and Delta launch vehicles, the transition to Vulcan has been slow and continues to impact the completion of Space Force mission objectives.' Vulcan's certification is at the point only partial, having only been signed off for five of the Space Force's nine required orbital needs, Purdy said. He did said ULA has increased its 'engineering resources and management focus to resolve design issues' while government personnel have been more involved with both technical and program management. Purdy said ULA's first national security launch on Vulcan will be USSF-106. The payload, Navigation Technology Satellite-3, is headed to geostationary orbit. Built by L3Harris, it's funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory and a potential replacement technology for GPS. It was one of two task orders given to ULA in 2020 with a value of $337 million. The other, USSF-51, was the one that launched last summer on an Atlas V. With ULA dealing with a backlog of the Phase 2 contract missions, the company's piece of the next pie got smaller. Earlier this year, the Space Force announced SpaceX, not ULA, would get the majority of the Phase 3 contracts with a total of $13.7 billion to be doled out over the next five years. SpaceX would receive 28 of 54 planned missions, or 52%. Meanwhile, ULA's take is only 19 missions, or 35%, while newcomer Blue Origin would get seven, or 13%. Purdy confirmed ULA had already lost out on some Phase 3 contracts because of the Vulcan delays, and addressed what he deemed to be ULA's marching orders along with other commercial providers that have fallen short on delivery to the government. 'For these programs, the prime contractors must re-establish baselines, establish a culture of accountability, and repair trust deficit to prove to (me) that they are adopting the acquisition principles necessary to deliver capabilities at speed, on cost and on schedule,' he said ULA meanwhile is dipping its toes back into launches, lining up only its second planned mission of the year, a commercial launch for customer Amazon using another of its remaining Atlas V rockets. Following the April launch of the first mission for Amazon's Project Kuiper, an internet satellite constellation that aims to compete with SpaceX's Starlink system, the second mission is targeting liftoff no earlier than June 13. Meanwhile, SpaceX has already flown its Falcon 9 on 64 missions this year, including 43 from the Space Coast.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX aims for afternoon launch from Cape Canaveral
SpaceX has lined up another Starlink launch from Space Coast for early Wednesday afternoon. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 28 of the company's internet satellites is targeting a 12:38 p.m. liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 with backups available until 2:47 p.m. as well as on Thursday beginning at 11:17 a.m. Space Launch Delta 45's weather squadron forecasts a 95% chance for good conditions at the launch site. The first-stage booster for the mission is making its fourth flight and will aim for a recovery landing downrange on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas stationed in the Atlantic. The launch would be the 41st from the Space Coast in 2025 with all but two coming from SpaceX. The other two were from Blue Origin with the debut of its New Glenn heavy-lift rocket back in January, and United Launch Alliance with an Atlas V launch last month. Blue Origin has yet to announce a date it might try for a second launch, but had stated earlier this year it would be in the spring. ULA has several more missions on tap this year including a potential second Atlas V launch in early June to fly up the second batch of customer Amazon's satellites for its Project Kuiper internet constellation, a competitor to SpaceX's Starlink. Amazon's first batch on the April launch totaled 27, but the company has lined up more than 80 more launches to grow that number. Project Kuiper's constellation aims tot total more than 3,600 satellites by 2028. SpaceX's Starlink, which already has had more than 8,500 satellites launched since 2019, has nearly 6,700 that remain operational in orbit, according to statistics maintained by astronomer Jonathan McDowell.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Space Force projects 107 Florida launches this year; SpaceX targets two more Falcon 9 liftoffs
(Editor's note: The second Starlink mission has moved to Tuesday night, and the 4½-hour launch window opens at 8:22 p.m.) In 2019, a mere 18 rockets launched into orbit from Florida's Space Coast. That number has already more than doubled thus far this year, with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's neighboring Kennedy Space Center hosting 37 liftoffs. Now, Space Launch Delta 45 officials project a record-breaking 107 launches may rack up this year. And two more SpaceX Falcon 9 liftoffs may occur on back-to-back days May 4 and 5. SpaceX has yet to publicly announce these Sunday-Monday Starlink missions, which will likely lift roughly 50 broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit. Both Falcon 9 first-stage boosters will target landings atop drone ships hundreds of miles from Cape Canaveral, so no Central Florida sonic booms should occur. Cape Canaveral: Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, Axiom, ULA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral Details on both upcoming launches: SpaceX is targeting liftoff at 4:53 a.m. May 4 to send up 29 Starlink satellites from pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Backup launch opportunities are available until 8:48 a.m., if needed. Then May 5, a 4½-hour Starlink launch window should open from 8:48 p.m. to 1:19 a.m. Tuesday, May 6, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory indicates. Those twin SpaceX missions will lift off on the heels of a Thursday, April 30, nighttime Falcon 9 launch, which took flight at 9:51 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Space Coast's record of 93 annual launches was established last year. On a related note, the Federal Aviation Administration will conduct a May 8 virtual meeting on environmental impacts from SpaceX's request to increase yearly Falcon launches from 50 to 120 at the Space Force installation. The FAA has determined that SpaceX's increased launch manifest would not result in significant terrestrial or marine wildlife and habitat effects, meeting materials show. Factors analyzed in the study include air quality, biological resources, climate, coastal resources, cultural resources, noise and water resources. Space Force Launch Delta 45's projection of 107 launches this year was announced in a news release highlighting updated security infrastructure and procedures at Patrick Space Force Base, in light of expanding launch tempo and strategic importance. For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@ Twitter/X: @RickNeale1 Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Space Force predicts 107 Florida launches in 2025; SpaceX eyes liftoffs May 4-5
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida: After weather scrub, when is liftoff?
The footprint of Amazon already is felt in everyday life − now the company is venturing into space. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is launching Project Kuiper, a global network of satellites, to compete with SpaceX CEO-billionaire Elon Musk and Starlink. It begins with the first-ever launch of the Amazon Project Kuiper production satellites, courtesy of a massive United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Weather postponed the initial liftoff attempt Wednesday, April 9. Below is information about the Amazon rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and what's next. Rocket launch calendar: Upcoming SpaceX, NASA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center After inclement weather triggered the Wednesday, April 9, scrub, ULA officials have announced a new launch date will be announced when approved by Eastern Range leaders. As of Thursday, April 10, the next ULA launch attempt remains unknown. "We will work with our partners at the U.S. Space Force Space Launch Delta 45 for the timing of our next launch opportunity," webcast commentator Caleb Weiss said during Wednesday night's launch window. ULA crews had targeted 8:59 p.m. EDT to launch the 205-foot Atlas V rocket — powered by five side rocket boosters — from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Click here for the Florida rocket launch calendar, which is frequently updated by USA TODAY Network's Space Team. Rocket launch visibility map: After Atlas V liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida, here's a list of cities, states that might see it For Amazon's first-ever payload of 27 production satellites for the ecommerce giant's future Project Kuiper internet constellation, aka United Launch Alliance KA-01 mission, it's catching a ride on the space agency's massive Atlas V rocket. The 205-foot-tall Atlas V will have five solid boosters to lift the heavy payload from Cape Canaveral to space. When the ULA Atlas V does launch, it's a very Instagram-worthy moment. Weather permitting and depending on cloud cover, this Amazon rocket launch from Florida's Space Coast could be visible from Fort Myers to Jacksonville to West Palm Beach. It'll be a great opportunity for unique photos — especially the contrail after. A ULA Atlas V graphic depicts potential visibility for launch spectators across much of the eastern United States, ranging from 30 seconds to 6½ minutes after liftoff along the rocket's flight path. A rocket launch can be a treat for the ears, too: On the Space Coast, a 'rumble' can be heard or window-shaking can be expected in some parts of Brevard County, Florida, after liftoff. On Oct. 6, 2023, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched the first Amazon satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in a Protoflight mission − the rocket carried Amazon's first prototype satellites to orbit to support Amazon's planned satellite internet constellation. On board the ULA Atlas V rocket in the October 2023 launch from Cape Canaveral was the prototype KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 satellites. The project by billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and CEO of space agency Blue Origin, is called Project Kuiper. "Project Kuiper is Amazon's low Earth orbit satellite broadband network. Its mission is to provide fast, reliable internet to customers around the world, including those in unserved and underserved communities, using a constellation of more than 3,200 LEO satellites," the ULA mission page said. The Amazon rocket launch from Florida is long awaited, as it will deliver the first batch of Amazon Kuiper satellites to orbit. Originally set to launch in late 2024, the Project Kuiper satellite constellation will be Amazon's entrance into the satellite internet market − similar to SpaceX's Starlink. This first launch is known as KA-01, or Kuiper Atlas 1. The launch will send 27 Kuiper satellites to orbit, making it the heaviest payload ever flown by a ULA Atlas V rocket. This will require the rocket configuration of five solid rocket boosters, which is the Atlas V rocket's most powerful model. For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here. Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper. Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@ Twitter/X: @RickNeale1 This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Amazon rocket launch in Cape Canaveral: What time is Atlas V liftoff?
