Western Range - Notable Launches

Notable Launches

  • 1959-02-28 - Discoverer 1 - first spacecraft placed in a polar orbit.
  • scheduled Summer 2013 – Falcon 9 Flight 6, the first launch of the Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle from a privately developed leased launchpad at Vandenberg Air Force Base will result in an unusual post-mission launch vehicle test. The first-stage booster of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will conduct a propulsive-return over-water test. After the second stage with the CASSIOPE payload separates from the booster, the booster will do a retro burn to reduce velocity from approximately Mach 10 (7,600 mph; 12,000 km/h) to a controllable descent velocity, and then a second burn just before it reaches the water to simulate a vertical landing of the first stage. This will be the first high-altitude, high-velocity test of the SpaceX reusable rocket launching system.

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