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    Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Already a Leader in Satellites, Gets Into the Spy Game

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    The Pentagon needs what the company offers to compete with China even as it frets over its potential for dominance and the billionaire’s global interests.The breakthrough came last month, about 600 miles above Earth.For the first time, the Pentagon’s Space Development Agency used lasers transmitting data at light speed to communicate between military satellites on a secure network, making it easier to track enemy missiles and if necessary shoot them down.It was a milestone not only for the Pentagon. This was a defining moment for a certain up-and-coming military contractor that had built key parts of this new system: Elon Musk’s SpaceX.SpaceX over the last year started to move in a big way into the business of building military and spy satellites, an industry that has long been dominated by major contractors like Raytheon and Northrop Grumman as well as smaller players like York Space Systems.This shift comes as the Pentagon and U.S. spy agencies are preparing to spend billions of dollars to build a series of new constellations of low-earth-orbit satellites, much of it in response to recent moves by China to build its own space-based military systems.SpaceX is poised to capitalize on that, generating a new wave of questions inside the federal government about the company’s growing dominance as a military space contractor and Mr. Musk’s extensive business operations in China and his relations with foreign government leaders, possibly including President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Musk is also unpredictable in a sector in which security is often perceived to be synonymous with predictability. He chafes at many of the processes and rules of government, saying they hold back progress, and wants to make his own calls.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Final Delta IV Heavy Launch: Finale for a Rocket That Brings the Heat

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      The ignition of the Delta IV Heavy rocket is perhaps the most visually striking liftoff you’ll ever see — the rocket seemingly burns itself up on the launchpad before it heads to space. Now, the very last Delta IV Heavy ever is on the launchpad.Liftoff is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral, Fla., although winds and clouds could keep the rocket on the ground for another day or a bit longer. Forecasts give only a 30 percent chance of favorable weather. Conditions are expected to be better during backup launch opportunities.“A bittersweet moment for us,” Tory Bruno, the chief executive of United Launch Alliance, the maker of the Delta IV Heavy, said during a news conference on Wednesday ahead of the flight, which is carrying a secret spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. “This is such an amazing piece of technology. Twenty-three stories tall. Half a million gallons of propellant. A quarter million pounds of thrust.”When it does launch, it will look as if it is catching on fire, with flames racing up the sides. That is by design.Fiery scenes from a Sept. 24, 2022, liftoff of a Delta IV Heavy rocket. Video by United Launch AllianceThe Delta IV Heavy burns ultracold liquid hydrogen, which is a high-performance fuel. In the final part of the countdown, to cool down the engines and prevent a sudden temperature shock that could cause cracks, liquid hydrogen starts flowing through the engine into the flame trench.But when the hydrogen warms above its boiling temperature of minus 423.2 degrees Fahrenheit, it turns into a gas. Hydrogen is lighter than air and rises upward. When the engines ignite, so does that cloud of hydrogen — like a space-age Hindenburg.“A very dramatic effect,” Mr. Bruno said.The rocket designers of course took this into account and applied sufficient insulation to the boosters to keep the rocket from actually burning up. The orange shade of that exterior takes on a burned-marshmallow sheen as the rocket leaves the Earth.“And away she goes,” Mr. Bruno said.Photographs by United Launch Alliance. Mobile photo illustration by Antonio de Luca. More