Atlas launches X-37B on fourth mission
Posted: Thu, May 21, 2015, 8:50 PM ET (0050 GMT)
An Atlas 5 placed the Air Force's X-37B and a number of smallsat secondary payloads into orbit on Wednesday. The Atlas 5 501 lifted off at 11:05 am EDT (1505 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at the beginning of a ten-minute launch window. The rocket's primary payload on a mission designated AFSPC-5 was the X-37B spaceplane, beginning the vehicle's fourth mission in Earth orbit. The Air Force has disclosed few details about the X-37's mission, beyond it carrying some technology demonstration payloads, including materials science experiments for NASA. The ten secondary payloads on the Atlas 5 included LightSail, a cubesat developed by The Planetary Society that will deploy a small solar sail in orbit next month.
An Atlas 5 placed the Air Force's X-37B and a number of smallsat secondary payloads into orbit on Wednesday. The Atlas 5 501 lifted off at 11:05 am EDT (1505 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at the beginning of a ten-minute launch window. The rocket's primary payload on a mission designated AFSPC-5 was the X-37B spaceplane, beginning the vehicle's fourth mission in Earth orbit. The Air Force has disclosed few details about the X-37's mission, beyond it carrying some technology demonstration payloads, including materials science experiments for NASA. The ten secondary payloads on the Atlas 5 included LightSail, a cubesat developed by The Planetary Society that will deploy a small solar sail in orbit next month.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, February 2
First launch of Ariane 6 with four boosters
ESA — 6:37 am ET (1137 GMT) Europe’s digital Earth gets ready to grow user community
ESA — 6:37 am ET (1137 GMT) Inside the high-stakes battle over Space Force advocacy
Washington Times — 6:34 am ET (1134 GMT) SpaceX rocket launch planned Monday morning at Vandenberg Space Force Base
KSBY-TV San Luis Obispo, CA — 6:32 am ET (1132 GMT) SpaceX Plans Data Center Satellite Constellation
Aviation Week — 6:30 am ET (1130 GMT) |
