Free Republic

North Korea is seeking to arrest those responsible for the failed launch of its second naval destroyer, as it denied the warship suffered major damage — a claim quickly met with outside skepticism. A statement from North Korea on its handling of the botched launch came after leader Kim Jong Un expressed fury over the incident that he said was caused by criminal negligence. The main military committee said Friday that those responsible would be held accountable for their “unpardonable criminal act.” Satellite imagery on the site showed the vessel lying on its side and draped in blue covers, with...

Authorities cracking down on national organized-crime rings swiping $18 billion a year through ATM card-skimming have now turned their sights on aiding Big Apple victims. The US Secret Service, which investigates financial crimes along with protecting the president, started the crackdown in California last year because of the staggering problem and has now expanded to team up with a new NYPD task force to try to thwart the criminals better here. “It’s billions of dollars [stolen] annually across the nation, so that jumps off the page by any metric,” Secret Service spokesman James Byrne told The Post on Wednesday, as...

Leftist Trump haters intent on attacking the president and Elon Musk’s Tesla have launched the “DOGEQUEST” website targeting the owners of Tesla EVs. The website includes the personal details of Tesla owners across the country and features a molotov cocktail cursor icon. The clear implication is that Tesla owners will be the next target of domestic terrorism rapidly escalating across the country. 404 Media reports that a website titled “DOGEQUEST” has published on a searchable map the alleged names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of Tesla owners throughout the United States. The site claims it will remove an individual’s...

On Friday, SpaceX's Crew-10 mission launched to help bring back the two astronauts stranded at the International Space Station. Astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams were supposed to just be at the ISS for eight days, but they've been stuck there since June 2024. A SpaceX Dragon capsule, riding atop one of the company's Falcon 9 rockets, is carrying the four Crew-10 astronauts - NASA's Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov - to orbit.They are going to replace SpaceX's Crew-9, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut...

Elon Musk’s SpaceX lost its 400-foot-tall Starship in space where it was destroyed after launching the rocket from Texas Thursday in its seventh test flight. The engines of the new and improved spacecraft went out during its ascent and the SpaceX team lost contact with the uncrewed craft, the company said. The launch however was not without some success. Before the ship loss, the company successfully demonstrated how its massive mechanical arms dubbed “chopsticks” caught the rocket booster at the launch pad for the second time ever. The “chopsticks” first and only other successful catch-and-return maneuver was demonstrated during an...

Blastoff is imminent.

The US military is set to conduct a test launch of a hypersonic nuclear missile hours after polls close on Election Day. An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is scheduled to blast off between 11:01pm and 5:01am PT from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base. **SNIP** But military officials noted that the 'test is routine and was scheduled years in advance.' They said the purpose of the test was to show the 'readiness of nuclear US forces' and provide 'confidence in the nation's nuclear deterrence' amid fears of the growing threat of the outbreak of World War III. The...

The Commissars of California are so concerned about enforcing political uniformity that they are denying the military's right to launch from Vandenburg Air Force Base using SpaceX rockets. Why? Elon Musk owns Twitter/X, and he is a supporter of Donald Trump. The California Coastal Commission on Thursday rejected the Air Force’s plan to give SpaceX permission to launch up to 50 rockets a year from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County.Some members of the commission complained about Elon Musk and his political statements. pic.twitter.com/rbdGWUYA1F— 🇺🇸Travis🇺🇸 (@Travis_4_Trump) October 12, 2024When the Biden administration dropped Starlink from its rural broadband...

The following is an update from SpaceX: "SpaceX is targeting Thursday, September 5 for a Falcon 9 launch of the NROL-113 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launch window opens at 8:20 p.m. PT." For countdown status and video feeds of the launch, go to: https://spaceflightnow.com https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=nrol-113 https://spacex.com/launches This information is subject to change. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=928089179364045&set=a.226357352870568&type=3&ref=embed_page

Pollster Frank Luntz said that Vice President Kamala Harris’ historically effective campaign launch is not sufficient for her to defeat former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Harris is currently leading Trump nationally by 1.5% after the vice president launched her campaign on July 21, according to the RealClearPolling average. Luntz, on “CNN News Central,” said that despite Harris having the “best launch” in decades, the polling difference between her and Trump is so small that she must surge after the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to have a clear path to victory.

South Africa’s new government is a “Government of National Unity” (GNU) between the formerly dominant African National Congress (ANC), the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), and the Zulu Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). The new government is the result of a coalition agreement that was announced Friday, shortly before a deadline to cast votes in Parliament for the country’s president. Current President Cyril Ramaphosa will be returning to office. The ANC fell from 57% in 2019 to just over 40% in the 2024 elections last month. The DA, with nearly 22% of the vote, was the second-largest party. The radical Economic Freedom...

Tomorrow, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, a Boeing-built spacecraft is set to blast off toward the International Space Station, carrying a human crew for the first time. The astronauts have been in preflight quarantine, getting some extra practice for the historic ride through flight simulations. The rocket stands tall on the launchpad, with the spacecraft, Starliner, perched on top. The weather forecast looks nearly perfect.

March 14 Starship • Orbital Flight Test 3 (OFT-3)Launch time: 7:00 a.m. CDT (8:00 a.m. EDT, 1200 UTC) for 110-min. windowLaunch site: Starbase, Boca Chica Beach, Texas A SpaceX Super Heavy booster and Starship vehicle will make a third fully-integrated test flight during a 110-minute launch window.The plan is for the Starship to achieve near-orbital before reentering the atmosphere and splashing down in the Indian Ocean.The Super Heavy booster will target a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

Virginia-class submarine Massachusetts (SSN 798) was recently launched into the James River at Newport News Shipbuilding. Shipbuilders transferred the submarine from a construction facility to the floating dry dock, where it was later submerged and moved by tugboats to a submarine pier at the shipyard for final outfitting, testing and crew certification. Massachusetts is the U.S. Navy’s 25th Virginia-class submarine and will be the 12th delivered by NNS.

A Trident nuclear missile misfired and crashed into the ocean near the submarine that launched it during a test last month, it has been reported.It is the second misfire in a row, after a failed launch in 2016.The missile’s first stage boosters did not ignite during a test launch by HMS Vanguard on January 30, and it fell into the ocean and sank, the Sun reported.Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key were both on board the submarine during the test, according to the newspaper.

Starlab — being built by Voyager Space and Airbus through a joint venture, alongside partners including Northrop Grumman and Hilton — is planned to launch on a single mission of SpaceX’s mammoth rocket. Starlab represents one of the earliest commercial customers to order a Starship launch from SpaceX. The companies did not disclose the launch contract’s value. The station is one of several currently in development by U.S. companies, as NASA prepares to retire the International Space Station in 2030. Voyager and Airbus are targeting as early as 2028 for Starlab’s launch. The space station’s four-year development and construction timeline...

Pad : SLC-40 Location : Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, USA Rocket : Falcon 9 Block 5

During the launch of the Starlink 6-7 mission, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket created a donut-shaped ring as it passed through maximum aerodynamic pressure. Lifted off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on July 28, 2023 at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 UTC).

Pad : SLC-41 Location : Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, USA Rocket : Atlas V live in 2 hours

KEY POINTS The Federal Aviation Administration said Elon Musk's SpaceX must keep its Starship Super Heavy rocket grounded. The federal agency had been probing the April launch, which saw SpaceX's Starship explode in mid-flight. The FAA called for SpaceX to take 63 corrective actions before it launches another Starship test flight.The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday said Elon Musk's SpaceX must keep its Starship Super Heavy rocket grounded, saying the company needs to take 63 corrective actions before it is cleared for another test flight. The FAA has now wrapped its probe into the April launch, which saw the rocket...