USAF Officials Expect Two Cape Canaveral Launches In Less Than 36 Hours Written 6 August 2019
6 August 2019
Spaceflight Now reports that “U.S. Air Force officials signed off Monday on a plan for SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, rivals in the launch services market, to fire off Falcon 9 and Atlas 5 rockets from neighboring launch pads at Cape Canaveral on Tuesday evening and Thursday morning.” SpaceX has a launch window “opening at 6:53 p.m. EDT (2253 GMT) Tuesday and extending until 8:21 p.m. EDT (0021 GMT).” Air Force 45th Space Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Doug Schiess “told reporters Monday morning that the Air Force would likely clear the SpaceX launch to proceed Tuesday.” Schiess also “said the Air Force might bring in additional government or contractor personnel to accommodate the quick span between launches.” The USAF “confirmed the range approval Monday afternoon, setting up the Space Coast for the fastest turnaround between two orbital rocket launches since May 1981, according to a launch log tabulated by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks global space activity.” (Image: A SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from Kenney Space Center Launch Complex 39A on 11 May 2018. | SpaceX | Wikipedia)
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Spaceflight Now reports that “U.S. Air Force officials signed off Monday on a plan for SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, rivals in the launch services market, to fire off Falcon 9 and Atlas 5 rockets from neighboring launch pads at Cape Canaveral on Tuesday evening and Thursday morning.” SpaceX has a launch window “opening at 6:53 p.m. EDT (2253 GMT) Tuesday and extending until 8:21 p.m. EDT (0021 GMT).” Air Force 45th Space Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Doug Schiess “told reporters Monday morning that the Air Force would likely clear the SpaceX launch to proceed Tuesday.” Schiess also “said the Air Force might bring in additional government or contractor personnel to accommodate the quick span between launches.” The USAF “confirmed the range approval Monday afternoon, setting up the Space Coast for the fastest turnaround between two orbital rocket launches since May 1981, according to a launch log tabulated by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks global space activity.” (Image: A SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from Kenney Space Center Launch Complex 39A on 11 May 2018. | SpaceX | Wikipedia)
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)