321 Launch: Space news you may have missed over the past week (June 13)
ULA test fires Vulcan rocket at Cape
United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan Centaur rocket roared to life for the first time last week at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
In what was called a "flight readiness firing," the rocket's twin BE-4 engines, which ULA purchases from Blue Origin, ignited at 9:05 p.m. EDT and briefly fired on the launch pad of the Cape's Launch Complex 41. While securely held in place by powerful restraining mechanisms, the test lasted a total of about six seconds, producing nearly a million pounds of thrust.
SpaceX launches pre-dawn Falcon 9 mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket vaulted away from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station along a southern trajectory to kick off the work week early Monday, taking 53 internet satellites to low-Earth orbit.
At 3:10 a.m. EDT, nine Merlin main engines ignited to boost the 230-foot rocket away from Launch Complex 40. After a jog along the coast threading between Florida and the Bahamas, the rocket's booster landed on SpaceX's "Just Read the Instructions" drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean, completing its ninth trip to the edge of space and back.
Upcoming launches:
NET June 21: ULA NROL-68
Company / Agency: United Launch Alliance for the National Reconnaissance Office
Rocket: Delta IV Heavy
Location: Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Launch Window: 3:00 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. EDT
Trajectory: East
Weather: TBD
Landing: None
Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space
About: A three-core United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket will launch a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. This will be the second-to-last flight for Delta IV Heavy before its retirement.
Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @EmreKelly.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: 321 Launch: Space news you may have missed over the past week (June 13)
