SpaceX passes milestone in Air Force certification
Posted: Sat, Jul 12, 2014, 11:02 AM ET (1502 GMT)
SpaceX announced Friday that it had achieved a major, but not final, milestone in its effort to be certified by the US Air Force to perform military launches. SpaceX said that the Air Force has certified the first three launches of the company's Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket, which took place in September and December of last year and January of this year, as successful. The Air Force had previously declared the first Falcon 9 v1.1 launch to be a success as it evaluated data from the other two. Performing three successful Falcon 9 launches is a key requirement for SpaceX to be certified by the Air Force to perform military launches, although the overall certification process is not expected to be completed before late this year or early next year. The certification process is ongoing even as SpaceX sues the Air Force, alleging a "block buy" contract with United Launch Alliance is locking the company out of opportunities to compete for military satellite launches.
SpaceX announced Friday that it had achieved a major, but not final, milestone in its effort to be certified by the US Air Force to perform military launches. SpaceX said that the Air Force has certified the first three launches of the company's Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket, which took place in September and December of last year and January of this year, as successful. The Air Force had previously declared the first Falcon 9 v1.1 launch to be a success as it evaluated data from the other two. Performing three successful Falcon 9 launches is a key requirement for SpaceX to be certified by the Air Force to perform military launches, although the overall certification process is not expected to be completed before late this year or early next year. The certification process is ongoing even as SpaceX sues the Air Force, alleging a "block buy" contract with United Launch Alliance is locking the company out of opportunities to compete for military satellite launches.| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Report outlines cost growth in canceled NASA exploration programs
Posted: Sat, Jun 27 11:14 AM ET (1514 GMT) Perseverance Mars rover finds more potential biosignatures
Posted: Sat, Jun 27 11:12 AM ET (1512 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, June 30
Starlink’s Architects Launch Eclipse to Open the Megaconstellation Era to New Players
Business Wire — 6:31 am ET (1031 GMT) Rocket Lab buys Iridium in $8 billion deal to take on SpaceX
Reuters — 6:25 am ET (1025 GMT) Rocket Lab CEO vows commitment to aero as firm buys Iridium
Runway Girl Network — 6:21 am ET (1021 GMT) Rocket Lab expands space biz with $8 billion deal
Axios — 6:21 am ET (1021 GMT) Rocket Lab to acquire satellite firm Iridium
Radio New Zealand — 6:21 am ET (1021 GMT) |
