A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launches on the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program 3 (STP-3) mission from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. The mission’s Space Test Program Satellite-6 (STPSat-6) spacecraft hosts NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) and the NASA-U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Ultraviolet Spectro-Coronagraph (UVSC) Pathfinder. (Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFRL PR) — The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate small satellite named Ascent was launched Dec. 7 from Cape Canaveral, Florida as part of the U.S. Space Force’s Space Test Program-3 mission, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.
Ascent is a 12-unit Cubesat conceived and developed within the directorate’s Small Satellite Portfolio at Kirtland AFB, and in partnership with the Space Security and Defense Program.
Spaceflight participant Yozo Hiro, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participant Yusaku Maezawa. (Credit: Roscosmos)
Dates and times subject to change without notice. And remember: no wagering.
December 1
Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9 Payloads: 53 Starlink broadband satellites Location: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Time: 6:20 p.m. EST (2320 GMT) Webcast: www.spacex.com
December 1/2
Launch Vehicle: Soyuz ST-B/Fregat-MT Payloads: Galileo 27 & 28 navigation satellites Location: Guiana Space Center Time: 7:31 p.m. EST (0031 GMT on Dec. 2) Webcast:https://www.youtube.com/c/arianespace
December 5
Launch Vehicle: Atlas V Payloads: U.S. Space Force LDPE-1 space tug; STPSat-6 technology demonstrator with NASA Laser Communications Relay Demonstration payload Location: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Time: 4:04-6:04 a.m. EST (0904-1104 GMT) Webcast:http://www.ulalaunch.com