U.S. Air Force has certified SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for national security space missions, ending monopoly of United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Corporation and The Boeing Company.
An unmanned Atlas 5 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida for a secret mission. The space plane is capable of remaining in space for almost two years.
A congressional review of the F-35's engine systems has found their reliability to be, "very poor."
The satellite, DMSP 13, was launched in 1995.
