Launch Vehicles

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The U.S. Space Force is looking at reactivating a rocket launching site on a remote Pacific island to test technologies for future rocket cargo delivery missions. The site, on Johnston Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, around 860 miles southwest of Hawaii, is now earmarked for the potential construction of two landing pads. This is part of the Rocket Cargo Vanguard program, which seeks to use rockets to move military supplies from one point on Earth to another much more rapidly than is currently possible.
Space

Notorious Abandoned Pacific Island Outpost Eyed For Space Force Rocket Cargo Delivery Tests

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 3, 2025

X-37B shows earth from its perspective for the first time.
Space

X-37B Spaceplane Shares Earth Image For First Time As New Mission Details Emerge

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Feb 21, 2025

Recent satellite imagery shows a curious white-colored object at the end of the runway at a remote airstrip in northwestern China.
Space

Mysterious Object Appears At Remote Chinese Airfield Linked To Spaceplane Program

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Dec 4, 2024

Defense officials say a notice to airmen was issued for a Russian space launch booster, not a military exercise.
Space

Russian Rocket Booster, Not Military Exercise, Prompts Airspace Warning Off California

By Howard Altman

Posted on May 17, 2024

Starship pictured during static-fire testing
Space

Military May Get Its Own SpaceX Starship Rockets For Dangerous Missions

By Oliver Parken

Posted on Feb 2, 2024

A video montage shown before the latest launch of a U.S. Space Force X-37B mini-shuttle appears to offer the first look at one of these spaceplanes outside of the Earth's atmosphere.
Space

Look At An X-37B In Space With An Extended Payload Module

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Dec 29, 2023

Shock diamonds from Starship's rocket exhaust
Space

Starship’s 33 Engines Created The Mother Of All ‘Shock Diamonds’

By Oliver Parken

Posted on Nov 21, 2023

X-37B_SIXTH_MISSION
Space

Details About X-37B Payload Adapter Revealed After Record-Setting Mission

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Nov 14, 2022

Activity At Remote Chinese Airstrip Seen Before Spaceplane Launch
News & Features

Activity At Remote Chinese Airstrip Seen Before Spaceplane Launch

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Aug 5, 2022

Space Shuttle Carrying 747 Was Secretly Modified To Defend Itself From Heat-Seeking Missiles (Updated)
Space

Space Shuttle Carrying 747 Was Secretly Modified To Defend Itself From Heat-Seeking Missiles (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Jan 28, 2022

SpaceX Rocket Will Make a Highly Unusual Flight Along California’s Coast Overnight
Space

SpaceX Rocket Will Make a Highly Unusual Flight Along California’s Coast Overnight

By Brian O’Rourke

Updated on Dec 17, 2021

Aevum’s Space Launch Plane Is A-5 Vigilante Sized, Its Claims Are Even Bigger
Space

Aevum’s Space Launch Plane Is A-5 Vigilante Sized, Its Claims Are Even Bigger

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Nov 9, 2021

China Says It Conducted A Successful Suborbital Test Of A Reusable Spaceplane
News & Features

China Says It Conducted A Successful Suborbital Test Of A Reusable Spaceplane

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Jul 26, 2021

Rocket Delivery Of Cargo Anywhere In An Hour In New Air Force Budget Proposal
Air

Rocket Delivery Of Cargo Anywhere In An Hour In New Air Force Budget Proposal

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jun 1, 2021

Graffiti Artists Defaced Soviet-Era Buran Space Shuttle At Russian Space Center
News & Features

Graffiti Artists Defaced Soviet-Era Buran Space Shuttle At Russian Space Center

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on May 26, 2021

Watch Elon Musk’s Starship Rocket Go Out With A Boom Wile E. Coyote Style
Space

Watch Elon Musk’s Starship Rocket Go Out With A Boom Wile E. Coyote Style

By Brett Tingley

Updated on Dec 10, 2020