Space Force to launch X-37B space plane on secret mission today. Here's how to watch live.

[Elderberry]

Space.com byTariq Malik 5/16/2020

Editor's note: ULA is now targeting a 10:13 a.m. EDT (1413 GMT) launch time for today's X-37B space plane. An earlier launch try was thwarted by bad weather.

The Space Force will launch a robotic X-37B space plane on a new secret mission for the U.S. military today (May 16) and you can watch it live online.

Weather permitting, the X-37B space plane will lift off atop an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to begin its hush-hush mission in Earth orbit. Liftoff is now set for 10:13 a.m. EDT (1413 GMT) after bad weather prevented a launch try earlier in the day.

You can watch the X-37B launch live here and on Space.com's homepage beginning at about 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT).

You can also watch the launch here directly from the United Launch Alliance, which built the Atlas V rocket for this mission. ULA will begin posting live updates on launch preparations at 1 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT) before the actual launch. Weather is a key concern, with Air Force officials forecasting just a 40% chance of good conditions for launch.

More: https://www.space.com/space-force-x-37b-space-plane-otv-6-launch-webcast.html

[Elderberry]

Editor's note: Bad weather has delayed ULA's Atlas V launch for the X-37B space plane. Next launch attempt is Sunday, May 17, at 9:14 a.m. EDT (1314 GMT).

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Blustery weather keeps Atlas 5 rocket grounded, SpaceX launch slips to Monday

Spaceflight Now by  Stephen Clark May 16, 2020

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/05/16/blustery-weather-keeps-atlas-5-rocket-grounded-spacex-launch-slips-to-monday/

Gusty winds and cloud cover associated with a subtropical low pressure system prevented United Launch Alliance from sending an Atlas 5 rocket into orbit Saturday from Cape Canaveral with the U.S. Air Force’s clandestine X-37B spaceplane. ULA plans to try again Sunday, delaying a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from a nearby pad to Monday.

ULA had reserved Sunday as a backup launch date for the Atlas 5 rocket weeks ago, before SpaceX requested the same day on the U.S. Space Force’s Eastern Range after delaying its launch from earlier in May. The range provides safety and other support functions for rocket launches from Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center.

The range typically operates on a first-come, first-served basis, so SpaceX’s Falcon 9 mission could only launch Sunday if the Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad Saturday.

The Atlas 5 and Falcon 9 rockets are standing about a mile-and-a-half apart on neighboring launch pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

More at link.

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SpaceX launch: Watch the U.S. military’s mystery plane rocket back into orbit

https://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2020/05/spacex-launch-watch-the-us-militarys-mystery-plane-rocket-back-into-orbit.html

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. military’s mystery space plane rocketed into orbit again Sunday, this time with an extra load of science experiments.

It’s the sixth flight of an X-37B, a solar-powered plane that's flown by remote control without a crew.

Officials aren't saying how long the spacecraft will remain in orbit this time or the purpose of the mission. But a senior vice president for X-37B developer Boeing, Jim Chilton, noted each mission has been progressively longer.

The previous mission lasted a record two years, with a touchdown shrouded in darkness at NASA's Kennedy Space Center last year.

The winged spacecraft resembles NASA’s old shuttles, but is just one-quarter the size at 29 feet (9 meters) long. The one just launched features an extra compartment for experiments, including several for NASA and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, making it the biggest science load yet for an X-37B.

More at link.

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