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“Old Reliable” Delta II Orbits First Of A Kind Soil Moisture Mapping Spacecraft

Blazing a trail through a cloudy California morning, a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket successfully deployed NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP spacecraft into polar orbit this morning on one of the venerable launch vehicle’s final missions. After delays this week due to strong high altitude winds, Delta blasted off at 6:22 a.m. PST […]

Launch of NROL-35 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. December 12, 2014. Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance
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Powerful Atlas Launches Clandestine Satellite From California

The largest Atlas rocket to fly from California blasted off tonight on a successful mission to deliver the classified NROL-35 satellite to polar orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office. Following a one day delay due to bad weather, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V-541 lifted off from Space Launch Complex-3 at 10:19 p.m. EST. “We […]