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USA-212
USA-212 was the first flight of the Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 1 (X-37B OTV-1), an American robotic vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing (VTHL) spaceplane. It was launched aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral on 22 April 2010, and operated in low Earth orbit. Its designation is part of the USA series. The spaceplane was operated by Air Force Space Command, which has not revealed the specific identity of the spaceship's payload for the mission. The Air Force has stated only that the spacecraft would "demonstrate various experiments and allow satellite sensors, subsystems, components, and associated technology to be transported into space and back." Launch USA-212 was launched on an Atlas V 501 rocket, tail number AV-012, from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch, which was conducted by United Launch Alliance, occurred at 23:52 UTC on 22 April 2010, placing the spacecraft into low Earth orbit for testing. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boeing X-37
The Boeing X-37, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is a reusable robotic spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, re-enters Earth's atmosphere, and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, in collaboration with the United States Space Force, for orbital Spaceflight#Launch, spaceflight missions intended to demonstrate reusable launch system, reusable space technologies. It is a 120-percent-scaled derivative of the earlier Boeing X-40. The X-37 began as a NASA project in 1999, before being transferred to the United States Department of Defense in 2004. Until 2019, the program was managed by Air Force Space Command. An X-37 first flew during a drop test in 2006; its first orbital mission was launched in April 2010 on an Atlas V rocket, and returned to Earth in December 2010. Subsequent flights gradually extended the mission duration, reaching in orbit for the fifth mission, the first to l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USA-226
OTV-2 (also known as USA-226) was the first flight of the second Boeing Boeing X-37, X-37B, an American unmanned robotic VTHL, vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing spaceplane. It was launched aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral on 5 March 2011, and landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base on 16 June 2012. It operated in low Earth orbit. Its USA-226 mission designation is part of the List of USA satellites, USA series. The spaceplane was operated by Air Force Space Command, which has not revealed the specific identity of the Payload (air and space craft), payload for the first flight. The Air Force stated only that the spacecraft would "demonstrate various experiments and allow satellite sensors, subsystems, components, and associated technology to be transported into space and back." Launch OTV-2 was launched aboard an Atlas V rocket, tail number AV-026, on 5 March 2011 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 41, Spa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlas V
Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas (rocket family), Atlas launch vehicle family. It was developed by Lockheed Martin and has been operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA) since 2006. Primarily used to launch payloads for the United States Department of Defense, NASA, and commercial customers, Atlas V is the longest-serving active rocket in the United States. Each Atlas V vehicle consists of two main stages. The First stage (rocketry), first stage is powered by a single Russian-made RD-180 engine that burns kerosene and liquid oxygen. The Centaur (rocket stage), Centaur upper stage uses one or two American-made Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engines that burn liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Strap-on booster, Strap-on Solid rocket booster, solid rocket boosters (SRBs) are used in several configurations. Originally equipped with AJ-60A SRBs, the vehicle switched to Graphite-Epoxy Motor (GEM 63) boosters beginning in November 2020, except for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Delta II
Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas, and sometimes known as the Thorad Delta 1. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family, derived directly from the Delta 3000, and entered service in 1989. There were two main variants, the Delta 6000 and Delta 7000, with the latter also having "Light" and "Heavy" subvariants. During its career, Delta II flew several notable payloads, including 24 Global Positioning System (GPS) GPS satellite blocks, Block II satellites, several dozen NASA payloads, and 60 Iridium communication satellites. The rocket flew its final mission, ICESat-2, on 15 September 2018, earning the launch vehicle a streak of 100 successful missions in a row, with the last failure being GPS IIR-1 in 1997. In the late 1990s, Delta II was developed further into the unsuccessful Delta III, which was in turn developed into the more capable and successful Delta IV, though the latter shares little heritage with the original ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Payload Fairing
A payload fairing or nose fairing is a nose cone used to protect a launch vehicle, spacecraft payload (air and space craft), payload against the impact of dynamic pressure and aerodynamic heating during launch through an atmosphere. An additional function on some flights is to maintain the cleanroom environment for precision instruments. Once outside the atmosphere the fairing is jettisoned, exposing the payload to outer space. The standard payload fairing is typically a cone-cylinder combination, due to aerodynamic considerations, although other specialized fairings are in use. The type of fairing which separates into two halves upon jettisoning is called a clamshell fairing by way of analogy to the Bivalve shell, bifurcating shell of a clam. In some cases the fairing may enclose both the payload and the upper stage of the rocket, such as on Atlas V and Proton M. If the payload is attached both to the Booster rocket, booster's core structures and to the fairing, the payload ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wet Dress Rehearsal
Launch vehicle system tests assess the readiness of a launch system to safely reach orbit. Launch vehicles undergo system tests before they launch. Wet dress rehearsals (WDR) and more extensive static fire tests prepare fully assembled launch vehicles and their associated ground support equipment (GSE) prior to launch. The spacecraft/payload may or may not be attached to the launch vehicle during the WDR or static fire, but sufficient elements of the rocket and all relevant ground support equipment are in place to help verify that the rocket is ready for flight. Propellant load tests and static fire tests may also be done on prototype rocket stages, in which case no fully assembled launch vehicle is involved, as is the case of the SpaceX Starship stages, the booster Super Heavy and the second stage Starship. Wet dress rehearsal A wet dress rehearsal is called "wet" because the liquid propellant components (such as liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen, etc.) are loaded into the rocket ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vertical Integration Facility
The Vertical Integration Building was a building at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, located at the far south end of the industrial area supporting SLC-40 and SLC-41. The building was one of the facilities of the Integrate-Transfer-Launch Complex that was used to support Titan III and Titan IV launches. These expendable launch systems were operated by the United States Air Force, both at CCAFS and at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California from 1965 to 2005. Several Titan rockets could be vertically integrated at the same time inside the Vertical Integration Building. In that respect it was a precursor to the Vehicle Assembly Building used for the Saturn V and Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. .... The Vertical Integration Buildin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
STS-131
STS-131 ( ISS assembly flight 19A) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). launched on April 5, 2010, at 6:21 am from LC-39A, and landed at 9:08 am on April 20, 2010, on runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. The mission marked the longest flight for Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' and its 38th and penultimate flight. The primary payload was a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module loaded with supplies and equipment for the International Space Station. The mission also removed and replaced an ammonia tank assembly outside the station on the S1 truss. STS-131 furthermore carried several on-board payloads; this mission had the most payloads since STS-107. It is also the last shuttle mission with a crew of 7. Crew Crew seat assignments Mission payload Multi-Purpose Logistics Module ''Leonardo'' The primary payload of STS-131 was the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) ''Leonardo''. The MPLM was filled with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air Force Space Command
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere is the outer region of a star, which includes the layers above the opacity (optics), opaque photosphere; stars of low temperature might have outer atmospheres containing compound molecules. The atmosphere of Earth is composed of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), argon (0.9%), Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, carbon dioxide (0.04%) and trace gases. Most organisms use oxygen for respiration (physiology), respiration; lightning and bacteria perform nitrogen fixation which produces ammonia that is used to make nucleotides and amino acids; plants, algae, and cyanobacteria use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. The layered composition of the atmosphere minimises the harmful effects of sunlight, ultraviolet radiation, solar wind, and cosmic rays ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Range
The Eastern Range (ER) is an American rocket range (Spaceport) that supports missile and rocket launches from the two major List of rocket launch sites, launch heads located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. The range has also supported Ariane (rocket), Ariane launches from the Guiana Space Centre as well as launches from the Wallops Flight Facility and other lead ranges. The range also uses instrumentation operated by NASA at Wallops and KSC. The range can support launches between 37° and 114° azimuth. The headquarters of the range is now the Space Launch Delta 45 at Patrick Space Force Base. History The history of the Eastern Range began on 18 October 1940, with the activation of the Patrick Space Force Base, Naval Air Station Banana River which primarily supported antisubmarine patrol plane squadrons equipped with the PBY Catalina and PBM Mariner during World War II. NAS Banana River was deactivated and put into a car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster
On Saturday, February 1, 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disintegrated as it Atmospheric entry, re-entered the atmosphere over Texas and Louisiana, killing all seven astronauts on board. It was the second List of Space Shuttle missions, Space Shuttle mission to end in disaster, after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, loss of ''Challenger'' and crew in 1986. The mission, designated STS-107, was the twenty-eighth flight for the orbiter, the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle fleet and the 88th after the ''Challenger'' disaster. It was dedicated to research in various fields, mainly on board the SpaceHab module inside the shuttle's payload bay. During launch, a piece of the Polyurethane foam, insulating foam broke off from the Space Shuttle external tank and struck the Space Shuttle thermal protection system, thermal protection system tiles on the Space Shuttle orbiter, orbiter's left wing. Similar foam shedding had occurred during previous Space Shu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3d Space Experimentation Squadron
The 3rd Test and Evaluation Squadron (3 TES) (formerly 3rd Space Experimentation Squadron (3 SES)) is a space test and evaluation unit located at Schriever Space Force Base in Colorado. As part of the United States Air Force, the squadron was described, in 2008, as "AFSPC's premier organization for space-based demonstrations, pathfinders and experiments. The unit identifies concepts of employment, training, education and technical skill sets required to field selected future AFSPC missions. The 3d SES will develop a core cadre of space professionals to serve as subject matter experts for all future AFSPC space-based endeavors, demonstrate operational utility of selected demonstrations and apply lessons learned from demonstrations and pathfinders for use in future initiatives." History The 3d SES was first constituted as the 3d Surveillance Squadron on August 10, 1990, at Misawa AB, Japan. However it was not activated at that time. In preparation for its activation and operations, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
