Free Republic

ASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Space Force said on Wednesday it has cleared Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab and Lockheed Martin's (LMT.N), opens new tab Vulcan rocket to launch national security satellites for the United States. SpaceX was the first company to handle such missions. "Vulcan certification adds launch capacity, resiliency, and flexibility needed by our nation’s most critical space-based systems," said Brigadier General Kristin Panzenhagen, the program executive officer for assured access to space.

The company used their solid propellant Minotaur I rocket to place the payloads into a low Earth orbit with a liftoff from Pad-0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia occurring on Tuesday, June 15 at 13:35 UTC (09:35 EDT). Due to the classified nature of the launch, nothing is publicly known about the payloads. However, the mass must be less than 580 kg, which is the max payload capacity of the Minotaur I. In keeping with NRO tradition, the mission patch consists of a whimsical piece of artwork, a mission motto, and some clues as to the...