SpaceX successfully launches Falcon 9 rocket with US intelligence satellite
SpaceX successfully launched one of its Falcon 9 carrier rockets with a US intelligence satellite on board on Sunday, broadcasting the launch live.
The launch took place at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 9:13 a.m. local time (13:13 GMT). The rocket is putting into orbit the NROL-85 mission for the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The mission's details have not been made public.
The rocket's first stage has already landed in the vicinity of the launch site. This is its second launch as it was previously used for putting another intelligence satellite into orbit.
The NRO is a US government agency that develops, builds, launches and operates US spy satellites that provide intelligence data to the 18 agencies comprising the US intelligence community and the Defense Department.
(Bloomberg) A senior official responsible for driving technological innovation at the U.S. Department of Defense has resigned, saying the Pentagon needs “structural change” and should behave more like SpaceX, Elon Musk’s satellite company that has shaken up rocket launches.
“We’re falling behind the commercial base in key areas, so we’ve got to catch up,” Preston Dunlap, the first person in the U.S. Department of Defense to fulfill the role of chief architect officer, told Bloomberg News in an interview. As a result the U.S. risked losing its technological edge against potential adversaries, he said.
Dunlap, who handed in his resignation on Monday after three years in the post at the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Air Force, was responsible for pushing more technology into a $70 billion budget for research, development and acquisition. He plans to start a space software company focused on the nexus with satellites, data and artificial
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