The Air Force’s 30th Space Wing and Space Exploration Technologies conducted the first launch of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. During the Sept. 29 mission from Vandy’s Space Launch Complex 4, the new Falcon 9 v.1.1 configuration carried Canada’s Cassiope technology demonstration satellite into orbit, along with five other smaller payloads, according to the company. The launch was part of SpaceX’s activities to gain Air Force certification to carry national security satellites into space. This was the sixth Falcon 9 launch overall; the previous five took place at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. The new v.1.1 configuration features stretched first and second stages and a new arrangement for the first stage’s nine Merlin engines. (See also Vandenberg release and Los Angeles Times report.)
There is a new entrant in the highly competitive field of collaborative combat aircraft—semi-autonomous drones meant to fly alongside manned combat aircraft. Northrop Grumman unveiled its new Project Talon aircraft to a small group of reporters at the facilities of its subsidiary Scaled Composites.
