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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At liftoff, plumes of smoke surround the United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission off Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft launched at 9:08:52 a.m. EDT Sept. 10. GRAIL-A will separate from the second stage of the rocket at about one hour, 21 minutes after liftoff, followed by GRAIL-B at 90 minutes after launch. The spacecraft are embarking on a three-month journey to reach the moon. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moon’s surface. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/ Tony Gray and Tim Powers KSC-2011-6922
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This graphic illustration depicts the U.S. Navy's first live fire demonstration to successfully test the integration of the F-35 with existing Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA) architecture.
An F-35B Lightning II aircraft launches for the first time off the flight deck of amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6).
A Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA launches from the Point Mugu Sea Range, San Nicolas Island, California in a successful first live-fire test
The Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) launches a Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) during a live-fire test of the ship's aegis weapons system.
A Marine Corps test pilot salutes before launching an F-35B Lightning II aircraft from the flight deck of amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6).
A Standard US Navy (USN) Missile 3 (SM-3) is launched from the USN Ticonderoga-class Cruiser USS LAKE ERIE (CG 70) during a Missile Defense Agency and Japan (JPN) Defense Agency cooperative flight test mission in the Pacific Ocean
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II, built by Lockheed Martin takes off for its first flight to test the aircraft's initial capability at Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth.
An F-35B Lightning II aircraft is manned by a Marine Corps test pilot while it is taxied on the flight deck of amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6).
US Navy (USN) Aviation Structural Mechanic Third Class (AM3) Jeffrey Harmon, Strike Fighter Squadron 41 (VFA-41), Black Aces, Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore, California (CA), gives the ready signal to a VFA-41 USN F/A-18F Super Hornet before launch aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS NIMITZ (CVN 68). The Nimitz Strike Group is currently on a regularly scheduled deployment and is participating in Maritime Security Operations (MSO)
A Standard Missile 6 launches to engage an over-the-horizon threat as part of the U.S. Navy's first live fire demonstration to successfully test the integration of the F-35 with existing NIFC-CA architecture.
Summary
WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. (Sep. 12, 2016) A Standard Missile 6 launches to engage an over-the-horizon threat as part of the U.S. Navys first live fire demonstration to successfully test the integration of the F-35 with existing Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA) architecture. During the test, an unmodified U.S. Marine Corps F-35B acted as an elevated sensor to send data through its Multi-Function Advanced Data Link to a ground station connected to USS Desert Ship (LLS 1), a land-based launch facility designed to simulate a ship at sea. (U.S. Army photo by Drew Hamilton) File# 160912-A-UY615-001
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is the fifth-generation combat aircraft, a single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighter designed to perform ground-attack and air-superiority missions. It has three main models: the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant, the F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant, and the F-35C carrier-based catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery (CATOBAR) variant. The F-35 descends from the Lockheed Martin X-35, the winning design of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. It is built by Lockheed Martin and many subcontractors, including Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, and BAE Systems. The most expensive $400-billion military program ever, the F-35 became the subject of much scrutiny and criticism in the U.S. and in other countries. By 2014, the program was $163 billion over budget and seven years behind schedule. The Air Force’s F-35A appears to be exempt from the major flaws, but the Marine Corps’ vertical-landing F-35B and the Navy’s carrier-compatible F-35C both suffer what the services call “category 1” deficiencies. The problems might also help to explain why US defense secretary Patrick Shanahan reportedly described the F-35 program as “f... up.” Some NATO members and close U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Turkey contribute to its development. These funders generally receive subcontracts to manufacture components for the aircraft. The U.S. plans to buy 2,663 F-35s, which will provide the bulk of the crewed tactical airpower of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps in coming decades.