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SpaceX set to launch USSF-52 mission with space plane – News 13 Orlando

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SpaceX in partnership with Space Systems Command is set to send up the USSF-52 mission with a space plane on Monday night.

SpaceXs Falcon Heavy rocket is set to launch from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, with the 10-minute launch window opening at 8:14 p.m. ET, confirmed both SpaceX and Space Systems Command (SSC) in a press release.

The launch was set for Sunday night at the same time, but it was pushed back to the following day. On Saturday, SpaceX posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the weather conditions were only 40% favorable.

But on Sunday morning, SpaceX posted that the forecast condition improved to 70% while the 45th Weather Squadron gave a 75% of good liftoff conditions. The only main concern is liftoff winds, stated the squadron.

If the launch does not happen on Monday night, the next chance will be Tuesday, Dec. 12, at the same launch window, SpaceX stated.

The Falcon Heavy has three Falcon 9 boosters. After the stage separation, the two side boosters are expected to land SpaceXs landing zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as sonic booms are expected to be heard.

The Falcon Heavys core booster B1084 (the center booster) is going to be jettisoned into the Atlantic Ocean. This will be its first mission.

The two side boosters, B1064 and B1065, already have four successful missions on their resume:

The USSF-52 will send up the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, a seventh mission for the Boeing-made space plane.

Onboard the unmanned space plane, also known as OTV-7, will be a series of top secret experiments, with the U.S. Space Force only stating the craft will be doing such tests as operating in new orbital regimes, experimenting with space domain awareness technologies and investigating the radiation effects to NASA materials.

Were nearly complete with the pre-launch work for our next National Security Space launch, which is the third Falcon Heavy used to launch a national security payload, stated Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, program executive officer for Assured Access to Space and Commander, Space Launch Delta 45, in the press release.

Neither the SSC nor the U.S. Space Force stated how long the X-37B will be in orbit for the USSF-52 mission, but in November 2022 when it came in for its landing of its last mission, it spent 908 days in orbit.

When the X-37B does eventually return to Earth, people can expect to hear a sonic boom.

One-fourth the size of the space shuttle, this Boeing-made craft is designed to operate in low-earth orbit, which is about 150 to 500 miles above the round Earth, described Boeing.

While not stating exactly what the X-37B is made of, Boeing stated the space plane was built using a lighter-composite structure than aluminum.

USSF-52 is carrying the seventh mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, which is an experimental test program that demonstrates technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the U.S. Space Force, stated the SSC.

The space planes flight controls and brakes do not use hydraulics, but use electro-mechanical catalysts.

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SpaceX set to launch USSF-52 mission with space plane - News 13 Orlando

Stratolaunch’s huge Roc plane flies with fueled-up hypersonic vehicle for 1st time (photos) – Space.com

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The world's biggest airplane took to the skies over the weekend with a new type of payload under its expansive wings.

Stratolaunch's Roc carrier plane conducted its first-ever captive-carry flight with a powered and fueled-up hypersonic test vehicle on Sunday (Dec. 3).

The main goal was to evaluate the propulsion system of that vehicle the first of Stratolaunch's robotic Talon-A craft, known as TA-1 and to see more generally how it behaves while being carried in flight, company representatives said.

"Talon-A's propulsion system supports a liquid-propellant rocket engine that provides the thrust needed for Talon-A to reach hypersonic speeds," Stratolaunch CEO Zachary Krevor said in a statement on Sunday.

"While we have conducted several successful ground tests fueling and igniting the system, we needed to evaluate how the system performs in the flight environment prior to release," he added. "Initial results from today's flight show that the system has performed as predicted, and we will determine our next steps pending the full data review of the test."

Related: Stratolaunch test photos: The world's largest plane in action

Sunday's flight was the 12th overall for Roc, which has a wingspan of 385 feet (117 meters). The huge, twin-fuselage plane had last flown in May of this year, when it performed its first-ever drop test with a Talon prototype.

Roc stayed aloft for three hours and 22 minutes on Sunday's sortie, which originated from the Mojave Air and Space Port in Southern California. TA-1 stayed attached to its carrier plane from liftoff to landing.

The flight "represented a significant step forward in the company's near-term goal of completing a powered flight with the Talon-A vehicle," company representatives said in the same statement.

Stratolaunch was founded by Microsoft's Paul Allen in 2011. The initial aim was to air-launch rockets from high in Earth's atmosphere, much as Virgin Galactic sends tourists aloft using its WhiteKnightTwo carrier plane and VSS Unity spaceliner.

But in 2019, a year after Allen's death, the company's focus shifted: It now intends to use Roc as a platform for hypersonic research and development. (Hypersonic vehicles are highly maneuverable craft capable of flying at least five times faster than the speed of sound.)

The reusable Talon-A craft will be Stratolaunch's first line of hypersonic vehicles, though others are in the offing; the company's website also teases a Talon+ vehicle, as well as a space plane.

Stratolaunch has already inked some customers for its hypersonic services. Last week, for example, the company announced that it had signed a contract with Leidos, the prime contractor for the U.S. Navy's Multiservice Advanced Capability Test Bed (MACH-TB). The deal funds five hypersonic flights with Talon-A vehicles.

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Stratolaunch's huge Roc plane flies with fueled-up hypersonic vehicle for 1st time (photos) - Space.com