This still from a Vandenberg Space Force Base video shows a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket carrying the TacRL-2 satellite being loaded onto a Stargazer carrier plane for a June 13, 2021 launch. (Image credit: U.S. Space Force/Vandenberg Space Force Base)
* The U.S. Space Force launched a military satellite, called Odyssey, into space on Sunday as part of its new, secret special projects unit
* The mission's goal was to condense the time it takes to develop and execute a launch from a few years to four months
* Odyssey is a surveillance satellite used to detect foreign objects in space, like floating debris
* It launched inside of a Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket that was fixed to the underbelly of a 'Stargazer' L-1011 carrier jet
The U.S. Space Force successfully launched into orbit a 'space domain awareness' military satellite that it designed and built in less than a year, under a significantly tighter time frame than what's usual for space launches.
The satellite, dubbed Odyssey, is the first launch of the Space Force's secret, special projects unit.
Odyssey hitched a ride inside a Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket fixed to the bottom of a modified 'Stargazer' L-1011 carrier jet and launched from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base early Sunday morning.
The hush-hush mission is the Space Force's first trial with condensing the timeline it typically takes to launch vehicles into space.
Read more ....
Update #1: Pegasus XL rocket launches secretive 'space domain awareness' satellite for US Space Force (Space.com)
Update #2: Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus rocket launches U.S. Space Force mission (Space News)
WNU Editor: The debate on the future of Space Force continues .... Scientists, generals, policy experts ponder future role of Space Force (Space News).
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