rocket launchers

16 Stories

Rivals: Musk's SpaceX Is an 'Anti-American' Empire

Critics gripe to 'NYT,' claiming space launch company is no 'accidental monopoly'

(Newser) - Elon Musk's SpaceX is the topic of conversation in the latest deep dive by the New York Times into his business practices, and the upshot is: His rivals aren't happy. They claim that although SpaceX is now a major player in the space launch arena, with NASA and...

Report: US Tweaked the Weapons It Gave Ukraine

'WSJ' reports US secretly modified rocket launchers to prevent firing of long-range missiles

(Newser) - The Biden administration must not have been convinced by Ukraine's promise not to use US-provided weapons to strike Russia, as the Wall Street Journal reports that the Pentagon secretly modified advanced rocket launchers sent to the war-torn country to prevent them from firing long-range missiles. The US has sent...

N. Korea Boasts About 'Super-Large' Rocket Launcher

Weapons system may be deployed soon

(Newser) - North Korea said Friday the latest test-firing of its "super-large" multiple rocket launcher was a final review of the weapon’s combat application, a suggestion that the country is preparing to deploy the new weapons system soon. South Korea’s military earlier said North Korea fired two projectiles , likely...

Baltimore Held a Gun Buyback, Got a Rocket Launcher

For $500

(Newser) - Baltimore police say a rocket launcher was among the more than 1,000 firearms turned in during recent gun buyback events. The rocket launcher was traded for $500, and police have reached out to the military and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to trace its origin. Police...

NASA's $1B Tower Is Leaning
NASA's $1B Tower
Is Leaning

NASA's $1B Tower Is Leaning

Agency says SLS launcher remains 'structurally sound' but it may send off only one mission

(Newser) - Since 2011, NASA has been upgrading a mobile launcher originally built for the Ares I vehicle to fit its massive Space Launch System rocket. The project is well over budget—when all is said and done, the revamp of the $234 million tower is expected to cost an additional $678...

LA Gun Buyback Yields ... Rocket Launchers?!
LA Gun Buyback Yields ... Rocket Launchers?!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

LA Gun Buyback Yields ... Rocket Launchers?!

75 assault weapons also turned in

(Newser) - Los Angeles officials declared victory this week, after their gun buyback program managed to pull in 2,037 guns, including 75 assault weapons and two anti-tank rocket launchers, the LA Times reports. Yes, you read that correctly. Residents turned in the weapons for grocery store gift cards, no questions asked.

North Korea Steps Closer to Rocket Launch

Could happen in as soon as 5 days

(Newser) - North Korea has taken another step toward its promised long-range rocket test , which could happen as soon as Monday. The three stages of the rocket have now been assembled on its launchpad at a northwest military base, and Yonhap News reports that workers have been spotted departing the site. The...

North Korea: We Can Hit US Mainland

Pyongyang rattles sabers after US deal with South

(Newser) - After the US this week gave South Korea permission to extend the range of its missiles, everyone expected North Korea to respond in some fashion. It didn't disappoint: Pyongyang today declared that its missiles could hit not only the "puppet forces" of the South but the US mainland...

SpaceX Seeks Space Flight Holy Grail

California company plans first-ever reusable rocket

(Newser) - Flying a capsule to the International Space Station was apparently just the beginning. The California company SpaceX is also refashioning its Dragon spacecraft to ferry astronauts, and planning to launch a huge new 23-story rocket from an Air Force base near Santa Barbara. Executives say they're even working...

North Korea Puts Rocket Into Place

Washington, South Korea watch nervously

(Newser) - North Korea has put a new long-range rocket into position as reports circulate that a nuclear test is underway, the BBC reports. Pyongyang insists the Unha-3 rocket will launch a harmless satellite, but South Korean leaders suspect otherwise—especially because the rocket is positioned at the Punggye-ri site, where North...

Al-Qaeda Grabbing Weapons in Libya: Report

RPGs, Kalashnikovs and missiles finding their way into terrorist hands

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda has emerged as a kid in a candy store in Libya, exploiting the conflict to get its hands on such high-powered weapons as anti-tank RPGs, Kalashnikov heavy machine guns, and even surface-to-air missiles, an Algerian security official tells Reuters . According to the official, a convoy of eight Toyota pick-up...

Loaded Rocket Launcher Found on Canadian Highway

There's no clue how it got there

(Newser) - A tree pruner clearing brush near a highway on Canada's Vancouver Island made a surprising discovery—a loaded rocket launcher sitting beside the road, covered in moss. “I cleared it away and that's when I read the writing. It said: To fire, aim, pull pin and press trigger,"...

French Ship Grabs 11 Pirates Off of Somalia

Navy intercepted two assault vessels and a 'mothership' today

(Newser) - A French naval vessel has intercepted 11 armed pirates off the coast of Somalia, according to a Defense Ministry spokesman, who says the pirates were traveling in two assault vessels and a so-called "mothership" loaded with provisions, Kalashnikovs, rockets, and rocket launchers. He says all 11 are Somali nationals.

N. Korea Launches Rocket
 N. Korea Launches Rocket 
UPDATED

N. Korea Launches Rocket

(Newser) - North Korea told the world to go stuff it today, launching a long-range rocket over Japan in defiance of international pressure. The State Department confirmed the launch, which took place Sunday morning in the North, Reuters reports. The US thinks Pyongyang is testing a Taepodong-2 missile, which could carry a...

Obama, S. Korea Prez Warn North Over Missile Launch

He and Lee will have 'united' response if Pyongyang fires rocket

(Newser) - Barack Obama and South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak agreed today on the need for a "stern, united" international response if North Korea goes ahead with a planned rocket launch. The two presidents met before today's round of talks at the G20 summit in London. Yesterday Obama told Chinese president...

China Shoots Down Bad Weather
China Shoots Down Bad Weather

China Shoots Down Bad Weather

High-tech program controls climate, plays rainmaker.

(Newser) - China has a solution for its unpredictable weather: create its own. The county is toying with the world's largest weather modification program in terms of size, budget and equipment. The original idea was to ease droughts and improve harvests with man-made rain, but the program has evolved uses in fighting...

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