OneWeb has another reservation with SpaceX for a rideshare mission with Iridium later this year.
The mission, SpaceX’s 16th flight of the year overall, was the third and final planned dedicated Falcon 9 launch for OneWeb, which switched launch providers from Russia’s Soyuz rocket to SpaceX and Indian rockets last year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here.SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Thursday with 40 more internet satellites for rival OneWeb, followed eight minutes later by the landing of the rocket’s first stage booster back at the Florida spaceport. You can contact her at Follow her on Twitter at is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Jamie Groh is a space reporter for Florida Today. Two solid rocket boosters and the debut payload will be installed on the next-generation rocket ahead of the first demonstration mission, which could happen as early as this summer.įor the latest, visit /launchschedule. What happens after the test ends?Īfter the test fire, the rocket will be emptied of propellants, fully secured, and returned to United Launch Alliance's Vertical Integration Facility for pre-flight processing. Vulcan is designed to be discarded into the ocean after every launch, but ULA is working on plans to recover the valuable engine sections. Standing 202 feet tall, Vulcan will liftoff from the Cape’s Pad 41, the same pad currently used to launch Atlas V rockets from Florida. It's designed to take over the launching responsibilities of the company’s aging Atlas V rocket and the soon-to-be-retired Delta IV Heavy rocket. It’s powered by two massive BE-4 main engines, purchased from Blue Origin, and can be outfitted with up to six solid rocket boosters to provide extra thrust. “Vulcan is a powerful rocket with a single core booster that is scalable for all missions, including heavy class performance normally requiring a Delta IV Heavy configuration,” Tory Bruno, ULA’s president and CEO, said in a release. Meet Vulcan Centaur: United Launch Alliance's newest rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station What is Vulcan Centaur? Once completed it will help pave the way for the rocket's debut launch set for later this summer. In addition, we will demonstrate the ability to successfully execute the engine start sequence and validate our hot-fire abort response procedures," Dillon Rice, ULA's Vulcan launch conductor, said in a release. "FRF is really about confirming the operational readiness of the integrated system: launch vehicle, ground systems, facilities and the associated software. Since then, ULA teams have been putting it through the testing paces, checking out everything from its fit on the pad to filling its tanks with propellants and running through mock countdowns. The "flight readiness firing" is a critical testing milestone that the company must ace ahead of the debut flight of the Vulcan, which arrived on the Space Coast in January.
View Gallery: Vulcan Rocket Arrives on the Space Coast What's the purpose of the engine test fire? It's expected to generate about a million pounds of thrust, but the rocket will remain on the launchpad held down by powerful restraining mechanisms.
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Fueling procedures got underway earlier this afternoon ahead of this evening's test, which will fire up two Blue Origin-built BE-4 engines at the business end of the company's new rocket.ĭuring the test, the engines will throttle up to full power and run for about six seconds. ULA teams rolled the rocket to its launch pad Tuesday. United Launch Alliance teams are working toward a first-time engine test of the company's next-generation Vulcan Centaur rocket, known as a "flight readiness firing." What we know about the Vulcan Centaur test fire: United Launch Alliance completed a six-second test fire of the two BE-4 engines of its new Vulcan Centaur rocket for the first time on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 9:05 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, June 7) The window for the "flight readiness firing" of ULA's Vulcan rocket can extend for hours. EDT at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. EDT, Wednesday, June 7) United Launch Alliance successfully completed a six-second engine test fire of the Vulcan rocket at 9:05 p.m.
Watch Video: United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket FRF engine test
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