AIR AND SPACE

ULA sucessfully launches first Atlas V rocket of 2021

The rocket is carrying the Department of Defense's fifth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (SBIRS GEO) missile warning satellite for the U.S. Space Force's Space and Missile Systems Center.

NASA's Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, achieves fastest, farthest flight to date

According to NASA, Ingenuity took off at 1:31 a.m. eastern time, or 12:33 p.m. local Mars time, rising 16 feet (5 meters) off the ground, the same altitude as its previous flight. The helicopter then zipped downrange 164 feet (50 meters), almost half the length of a football field, reaching a top speed of 6.6 feet per second (2 meters per second).