Anyone who has followed this site over the past few years will notice a few constants about what I write about – technology, gaming, social commentary, and space and rocketry. Given the depth of the articles I’ve written on the subject, my absolute love of that last category, space, and rocketry, is well documented. Even […]
The United States Air Force AEHF4 payload was successfully launched on time this morning at 12:15AM Eastern from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on an Atlas V rocket. This launch marks the 131st mission for United Launch Alliance and their 50th launch for the Air Force. It’s the 79th Atlas V rocket launch and the […]
We’ve got another awesome Atlas V launch tonight; this time an Atlas 551 configuration, one of the most powerful variations available of the Atlas V with 5 solid rocket boosters, will be launching the fourth satellite in the Advanced Extremely High Frequency series for the U.S. Air Force. This is a slightly different launch, in that […]
Since tomorrow morning marks the 1-week anniversary of the final Delta II launch, I thought it would be neat to take a simple look back at the final primary payload deployed by the Delta II – ICESat-2. I already shared this video in my article on the successful launch of the payload, but hey, why […]
Here we have the launch highlights video for the final Delta II launch – ICESat-2. This early morning flight was a beautiful end to the nearly 30 year Delta II program and was, as expected, a complete success. This marked the 100th successful Delta II flight in a row, also setting a world record for […]
It’s mission complete for the Delta II rocket – today at 6:01 A.M. Pacific Time the final Delta II booster launched on the last mission of the program to deliver ICESat-2 into a polar orbit to begin its mission of studying the Earth’s cryosphere. This launch marks the 155th Delta II launch, the 100th successful […]
As is standard fare for a United Launch Alliance flight we have here the ICESat-2 mission profile video. What isn’t standard fare is that this is a Delta II launch. Not just any Delta II launch, but the final flight of the Delta II booster. Yes. That’s it. This will mark flight 155, and the […]
Here’s a neat little bit of video you don’t get too often for a Delta IV – footage from onboard during launch. While this footage is always awesome to watch, and is rather common among some other boosters and launch providers, for Delta IV onboard footage has been a little scarce through the years. This […]
What United Launch Alliance rocket flight would be complete without a launch highlights video? The Parker Solar Probe is no exception here, as we have yet another fine blend of preparation shots and best of views of the early ascent of the Delta IV Heavy. Of note in this video is the man shown watching […]
After multiple delays, eventually resulting in a scrub for the original planned August 11th launch date, the Parker Solar Probe successfully began its mission mission to “touch the Sun” this morning at 3:31 AM . Yeah, quite early, but early enough that I could easily just stay awake to watch it, and I’m glad I […]
I didn’t get much sleep last night. I, of course, stayed awake to watch the launch of the Parker Solar Probe. Sadly, that launch didn’t happen this morning as planned. The original launch time of 3:33AM Eastern was pushed back by 20 minutes to accommodate some issues experienced in the countdown. Those issues were resolved, […]
Next up in my pre-launch sharing of content related to the Parker Solar Probe mission is this United Launch Alliance video on the launch vehicle for this mission – the Delta IV Heavy – and the flight plan that will put the Parker Solar Probe on a course for the Sun. Delta IV Heavy is […]
Yeah, I know it’s late when I’m writing this (9 P.M. my time) but I figured, hey, why not wish my readers a happy 4th. Right now I’m sure you’re partying in one way or another right now, that is, if you’re in the United States. Hope you’re all being safe! If you’re reading this […]
You didn’t think we would have a high profile Atlas V launch without me sharing the launch highlights video, did you? Of course not. While there wasn’t too much to see with this mornings launch, it still put on quite a show for what we could see, especially some footage taken above the clouds from […]
NASA’s InSight Mars lander successfully launched this morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. As expected, the weather was quite a mess – very foggy – and once the Atlas V RD-180 engine ignited there wasn’t too much more than steam and an orange glow to be seen in the launch video. Of course, […]