A SpaceX Falcon with an unknown payload was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on the same day it was revealed that Russia wants to deploy a nuclear weapon in space.
The launch took place on Wednesday afternoon and cameras captured the spectacular moment when the rocket from the secret national security mission USSF-124 appeared to cross the moon.
The booster touched down at the SpaceX landing zone eight minutes after launch, completing its seventh mission, according to Space Force officials who remained silent about the mission until this morning.
A second launch is scheduled for 1:05 a.m. Thursday, with Odysseus, Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander, lifting off on the IM-1 mission to the moon’s surface.
SpaceX’s double launch comes on the same day it was revealed that members of Congress were briefed on Moscow’s plan to place a nuclear weapon in space to target and destroy satellites the world depends on.
A SpaceX Falcon with a mysterious payload launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on the same day it was revealed that Russia wants to deploy a nuclear weapon in space.
The booster touched down at the SpaceX landing zone eight minutes after launch, completing its seventh mission, according to Space Force officials, who remained silent about the mission until this morning.
A second launch is scheduled for 1:05 a.m. Thursday, with Odysseus, Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander, lifting off on the IM-1 mission to the moon’s surface.
The launch marks the 11th national security launch supported by a SpaceX Falcon, according to a statement from Space
Falcon 9 is the safest and most experienced active US rocket and the only one currently certified to transport humans to the International Space Station.
The Space Force said Wednesday that USSF-124 will send six satellites into orbit: two for the Missile Defense Agency and four for the Space Development Agency.
“With every national security launch, we continue to strengthen America’s capabilities and deterrence in the face of growing threats, while adding stability to a very dynamic world,” said Col. Jim Horne, Delta’s senior materiel leader. Space System Command launches.
“It’s what we do in the Space Force and we take that responsibility seriously,” he added. But other details about the mission remain undisclosed.
SpaceX will launch IM-1 shortly after midnight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, which is next to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Hours after the successful liftoff of the Falcon 9, the Russian Progress 87 spacecraft was sent towards the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Wednesday’s mission comes as House Intel Chairman Mike Turner of Ohio said members of Congress had been informed of a Russia-related threat.
The launch marks the 11th national security launch supported by a SpaceX Falcon, according to a statement from Space
Falcon 9 is the safest and most experienced active US rocket and the only one currently certified to transport humans to the International Space Station
The Falcon 9 first stage booster landed at SpaceX Landing Zone 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, completing its seventh mission.
It later emerged that it was linked to Moscow’s plan to place a nuclear weapon in space to attack and destroy satellites on which the world depends. ABC News reported.
Turner asked the president to declassify the information so lawmakers could discuss the ramifications of the ominous warning that sparked a White House response and furious speculation.
Moscow has already demonstrated how lethal it can be from space by testing a lethal-impact anti-satellite missile in 2021.
Russia smashed a defunct spy satellite launched in 1982 into 1,500 pieces of debris in the attack and sparked fury around the world.
In 2020, Moscow fired an anti-satellite weapon from its Cosmos 2543 satellite while in orbit.
Vladimir Putin has also threatened the West with his deadliest hypersonic missile yet, which could accelerate into space and hit multiple targets on the ground.
The nuclear-capable Avangard missile, which can reportedly hit targets at 27 times the speed of sound, is seen in new footage installed in an underground launch silo in Russia’s Orenburg region.
According to Moscow, the 20,000 mph missile with a hypersonic glide vehicle will be able to leave Earth’s atmosphere before reaching any target in the world in less than 30 minutes.
A top Republican was warned there is a “serious threat to national security” in a cryptic statement demanding President Joe Biden declassify all related information.
Russia blew up one of its own satellites in 2021 with a missile. The destroyed target was Cosmos 1408, a defunct spy satellite launched in 1982, causing a field of 1,500 remains that endangered the ISS crew.
Members of Congress or US allies will not be allowed to speak openly about the threat or work together on it until the report has been declassified.
They can review information related to “destabilizing foreign military capabilities” in a secure location on Capitol Hill today and tomorrow.
“Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence made information about a serious national security threat available to all members of Congress,” Turner said.
“I request that President Biden declassify all information related to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat.”
Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., was one of the first lawmakers to see the documents at the SCIF on Wednesday afternoon.
He told reporters that the threat “is not an immediate crisis, but certainly something that we have to take very seriously.”
‘There are a lot of very volatile things we have to address. This is one of them,” he added.