Latest news with #SpaceLaunchDelta45
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Evening SpaceX launch on tap from Cape Canaveral if weather holds
SpaceX has lined up an evening launch from Cape Canaveral on Monday, but the threat of thunderstorms could force a delay. A Falcon 9 rocket on the mPOWER-D mission with two more communication satellites for Luxembourg-based SES is targeting liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 during a two-hour launch window that opens at 5:12 p.m. with a backup option Tuesday during the same window. Space Launch Delta 45's weather squadron forecasts only a 50% chance for good conditions Monday, which decline to 25% if delayed to Tuesday. If it does launch, it will be the sixth flight for the first-stage booster, which will attempt a recovery landing downrange on the droneship Just Read the Instructions stationed in the Atlantic. The payloads are the ninth and 10th O3b mPOWER satellites built by Boeing Space for SES. They are headed to medium-Earth orbit at about 5,000 miles altitude. This would be the 62nd launch on the Space Coast from all companies in 2025, with all but three coming from SpaceX. Blue Origin had one with its New Glenn debut in January while United Launch Alliance has flown two Atlas V rockets as well. ULA could fly before the end of the month with what would be its third-ever launch of the new Vulcan rocket, which has been prepping to fly its first national security mission, USSF-106, from Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41. Blue Origin recently announced its next New Glenn launch would be for NASA's Mars-bound ESCAPADE mission, but didn't announce a target liftoff date. SpaceX has flown 42 of its missions from Canaveral's SLC-40 and all 16 of the launches from Kennedy Space Center this year. The next KSC launch could come as early as July 31 for NASA's Crew-11 mission. Solve the daily Crossword
Miami Herald
06-07-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Space Force command shifts on the Space Coast
The Space Force officer in charge of overseeing each launch on the Space Coast has changed hands. Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen handed off some of her duties, including the roles of commander for Space Launch Delta 45 and director of the Eastern Range, to Space Force Col. Brian Chatman. The change of command ceremony took place on June 26 with Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, the head of Space Systems Command, overseeing the traditional passing of the guidon, a symbolic pennant, that ended Panzenhagen's run as the leader of Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. She came to the Space Coast in June 2023 while also taking on the roles of executive officer for the Space Force's Assured Access to Space program and director of launch and range operations for Space Systems Command out of Patrick SFB. She filled the boots of Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, who had been in those roles from 2021-2023, including leading the two facilities' transition from the Air Force to the Space Force. Panzenhagen finished up overseeing 2023's record launch year of 72 missions, only to top that with the 93 flown in 2024. Through July 2, the Space Coast has seen 58 launches from either Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, on track to break 100 before the end of the year. At the beginning of the year, Panzenhagen said the Space Force was prepped to support 13 launches a month if need be, or 156 for the year, although that pace was not realized. Chatman's most recent posting has been that of deputy director for the Space Systems Engineering Directorate for the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration. "As the SLD 45 commander, he runs the world's busiest spaceport and is responsible for delivering infrastructure, operations, and support for all Eastern Range launch and test missions," reads his official Space Force bio. "As Director of the Eastern Range, he is responsible for the safety of launch and test operations across a 15-million-square-mile area." He received his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. "His primary duties have included special operations intelligence, aircraft and space systems acquisition program management, space operations, and as an operational liaison between the intelligence community, the special operations community, and Air Force and Space Force acquisition communities," his bio reads. His experience includes assignments with the National Reconnaissance Office, Space Systems Center, and the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, where he ran a $1.2 billion program of 15 top national priority classified programs and directed more than 500 government and contractor personnel. He also previously served as the deputy commander of the 30th Operations Group at Vandenberg Air Force Base, which included space operations on the Western Range. The Space Force has not announced who will be the new executive officer for the Assured Access to Space program, nor what Panzenhagen's new assignment will be. _____ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida Tech, Patrick Space Force Base partner to offer master's degrees for military personnel
Coming full-circle in a sense, the Florida Institute of Technology will start offering master's degree programs this fall behind the gates at Patrick Space Force Base for military and civilian personnel. "We were founded in the same year as NASA: 1958. And our original mission was to serve as a night school for missilemen, as the Cape Canaveral technicians needed master's degrees in the early days of the Space Race," Florida Tech President John Nicklow said. "Scientists and engineers came together in that year to launch that very important work. The mission soon evolved to encompass military service members. And as Kennedy Space Center grew, and Patrick grew and evolved, so did Florida Tech," Nicklow said. Florida Tech: Virgin Galactic spaceflight chief encourages Florida Tech grads as company builds new rocket plane Nicklow spoke during a June 10 ribbon-cutting ceremony at Patrick's Education and Training Center, where the Melbourne-based university has set up classrooms and support facilities. The four degree programs: Master of Science in acquisition and contract management, Master of Science in space systems, Master of Science in space systems management, and Master of Business Administration. "All incredible things, as you look at Patrick Space Force Base and the unique professionals that we have here, being able to continue their educational experience to further build on their repertoire, their skill set," said U.S. Air Force Col. Christopher Bulson, Space Launch Delta 45 deputy commander. "Whether it's within the Department of Defense, or coming back to the local community when they're done with their service," Bulson said. Nicklow and Bulson plan to expand Florida Tech's offerings in the future, based on need and demand. Student enrollment projections remain in "the discovery phase," they said. Florida Tech's institutional accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, is expected to approve the Patrick instructional site this summer. The Melbourne university's faculty members and instructors will commute to the beachside Space Force base and teach eight-week classes in hybrid (in-person and online) fashion. Don Platt, associate professor of space systems and director of Florida Tech's Spaceport Education Center in Titusville, will oversee operations. During a December FLORIDA TODAY interview, Nicklow and Space Force Maj. Gen. Timothy Sejba said the university and STARCOM — or Space Training and Readiness Command headquarters — were exploring an educational partnership. STARCOM is in the process of moving from Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs to Patrick, eventually bringing more than 450 military and civilian personnel to Florida's Space Coast. The St. Johns River Water Management District has issued a stormwater management system permit for two future modular buildings for STARCOM personnel on base. Brevard Engineering College — today's Florida Tech — hosted its first classes on Sept. 22, 1958, inside three rented classrooms at Eau Gallie Jr. High School. That building is now West Shore Jr./Sr. High. The university earned the NASA-themed nicknames "Missileman U" and "Countdown College" during its formative years. Five Florida Tech graduates became NASA space shuttle astronauts: Suni Williams, Joan Higginbotham, Kathryn Hire, George Zamka and Frederick Sturckow. Another alumnae, Ann Dunwoody, became America's first female four-star general in the U.S. Army. "I really appreciate the words on the history of the university. It's really amazing to continue that legacy in a different way," Bulson told Nicklow during a tour of Florida Tech's new educational space. "You know, it feels like we're getting back to our roots in some way by doing this. It's a little bit different, but it's who we are," Nicklow replied. For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly Space newsletter. 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: 'Missileman U' Florida Tech to offer degrees at Patrick Space Force Base
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Watch Live: SpaceX lines up Starlink launch while private Axiom Space mission waits out weather
Tuesday morning's weather seems nice enough on the Space Coast, but high winds in a potential abort site forced the human spaceflight plans of Axiom Space and SpaceX to push a planned launch of the Ax-4 mission from Kennedy Space Center to at least Wednesday. The payload of 23 Starlink satellites on another SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, though, does not require as much caution, so a launch from neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 is still on targeting liftoff at 9:05 a.m. during a window that runs through 1:02 p.m. Space Launch Delta 45's weather squadron forecasts a 95% chance for good conditions at the opening of the window, although those chances decline to just 70% by the early afternoon. The first-stage booster for the mission is making its 12th flight and will aim for a recovery landing downrange on the droneship Just Read the Instructions stationed in the Atlantic. It would be the 49th launch on the Space Coast with all but two coming from SpaceX. If it goes up, launch No. 50 could come Wednesday morning as the Ax-4 mission looks to send up its crew in a new Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 launching from KSC's Launch Pad 39-A at 8 a.m. It's the second flight of the mission's first-stage booster, which would return to Canaveral's Landing Zone 1, meaning a sonic boom could be heard on the Space Coast and parts of Central Florida. SLD 45's weather squadron forecasts an 80% chance for good conditions at the launch site, but the forecast continues to predict moderate to high winds along the launch corridor that includes areas needed in case of an emergency abort. A backup to Thursday at 7:37 a.m. sees a better weather forecast for those downrange winds expected to have died down some, while chances at the launch site would be 75% for good conditions. The Ax-4 mission is commanded by former NASA astronaut and now Axiom Space employee Peggy Whitson making what would be her fifth trip to space. She is leading three men whose seats were paid for by the governments of India and Hungary, as well as Poland through its membership with the European Space Agency. India's Shubhanshu Shukla is taking the role of pilot while Hungary's Tibor Kapu and Poland's Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski are mission specialists. None of those three countries have had national astronauts fly to space in more than four decades. They plan to dock with the International Space Station one day after launch for about a two-week stay during which the quartet will work on about 60 science investigations representing 31 different countries. More than two dozen of those will be sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory. This would be the third human spaceflight from the Space Coast in 2023 following SpaceX's Crew-10 mission and the private polar orbital Fram2 mission.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
What to know: SpaceX rocket launch from Cape Canaveral set for overnight
SpaceX will try again tonight to launch the Falcon 9 rocket that scrubbed early Monday morning. The new liftoff time is set for 12:42 a.m. Tuesday, June 3. The launch will be from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 40. The payload is latest batch of Starlink internet satellites, which is being referred to as Starlink 12-19. SpaceX did not provide an official reason for the early Monday scrub. The 45th Weather Squadron predicted a 65% chance of favorable conditions for tonight's launch attempt. According to Space Launch Delta 45, the rocket will travel on an eastern trajectory upon liftoff. This is a rare occasion as Starlink launches typically fly southeast or northeast. When is the next Florida rocket launch? Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, Axiom, ULA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral No middle-of-the-night sonic booms will be heard on the Space Coast, as the rocket's first stage will land on a SpaceX drone ship stationed out on the Atlantic Ocean. Check back beginning 90 minutes prior to liftoff for live updates on this page. Countdown Timer Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@ or on X: @brookeofstars. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: What to know: SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral to occur overnight
