Wednesday, July 13, 2011

SpaceX Set To Unveil New Launchpad At Vandenberg

Hawthorne-based SpaceX, the commercial spaceflight and rocket developer headed by tech mogul Elon Musk, is getting set today to break ground on a new launchpad at Vandenberg Air Force Base. SpaceX says it is investing $30M in a new launch pad at the base, north of Santa Barbara, as a place to launch its upcoming Falcon Heavy rocket. Vandenberg is a common location for rocket launches from NASA and the U.S. military. SpaceX revealed plans for its Falcon Heavy in April, saying that the new rocket will aim to lift up to 53 metric tons of cargo into orbit--twice the payload of the Delta IV Heavy rocket, and a capacity that has not been available since the Saturn V moon rocket was last launched in 1973.

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