SpaceX launched its fifth Falcon Heavy rocket mission, USSF-67, on Sunday from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.
The rocket made liftoff at 5:56 p.m. EST, with 5 million pounds of thrust.
The payload included two military satellite systems: the Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM and Long Duration Propulsive ESPA.
The first system is a geostationary relay satellite which enhances communication abilities to support U.S. security leaders. The second provides data to the U.S. Space Force and carries and directs smaller payloads for the program.
The payloads also include prototype systems used for secure space-to-ground communication.
Sunday’s Falcon Heavy launch was the second in the last three months following a three-year gap between the third and fourth missions.
“This is a complex mission and truly represents what Assured Access to Space is about and is why we’re so enthusiastic about this upcoming launch…our second Falcon Heavy in just months,” Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, program executive officer for Assured Access to Space, said according to SatNews.
On Nov. 1, a rocket was launched for the USSF-44 mission, deploying two spacecrafts into orbit: the TETRA 1 microsatellite developed by Boeing subsidiary Millennium Space Systems for the U.S. military.
Four more Falcon Heavy launches are planned for this year.
Related Links
Read the latest in Military Space Communications Technology at SpaceWar.com
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Airbus and VDL Group join forces to produce an airborne laser communication terminal
Leiden, Netherlands (SPX) Jan 12, 2023
Airbus and VDL Group have signed a partnership agreement for the development and manufacturing of a laser communication terminal for aircraft, known as UltraAir. Based on the development led by Airbus and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), the two companies will now prepare a demonstration of a prototype and a first flight test in 2024.
As of 2024, Airbus and VDL Group – a Dutch high-tech industrial supplier – will further industrialise the prototype in order to ma … read more
