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Mission Reports
For 14 years, Spaceflight Now has been providing unrivaled coverage of U.S. space launches. Comprehensive reports and voluminous amounts of video are available in our archives.
Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO:
THE DELTA 4 ROCKET LIFTS OFF DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
MOBILE SERVICE GANTRY ROLLED BACK DOWNLOAD
Ground teams restore contact with orbiting geckos
A Russian ground team has made contact with a gecko-carrying scientific research satellite, restoring communications with the spacecraft after officials were unable to control it for a week, the Russian space agency announced Saturday.
FULL STORY
NASA considers commercial telecom satellites at Mars
NASA may take the commercialization of the final frontier to other planets with a study that could lead to the construction of interplanetary communications satellites to relay data between Earth and future Mars rovers.
FULL STORY
Extension granted for Spitzer infrared telescope
NASA officials said this week they plan to keep funding the Spitzer observatory for two more years, reversing a preliminary decision this spring to shut down the space-based infrared telescope due to budget concerns.
FULL STORY
Officials unable to contact animal-carrying spaceship
A Russian space capsule carrying a package of biological and materials research specimens, including geckos and plant seeds, has stopped responding to commands from Earth, the Russian space agency announced Thursday.
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Russian cargo carrier journeys to space station
A Russian Progress supply ship blasted off on top of a Soyuz rocket Wednesday and completed an expedited pursuit of the International Space Station with a smooth automated docking less than six hours later, delivering 5,700 pounds of food, fuel and supplies.
FULL STORY PREVIEW STORY - with images!
Orbcomm pleased with SpaceX rocket performance
The six Orbcomm communications satellites launched last week are in good shape after an ultra-precise orbital delivery by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, according to Orbcomm's chief executive.
FULL STORY
Video shows Falcon 9's rocket-assisted splashdown
SpaceX released a video clip Tuesday showing the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket descending back to Earth for a controlled, low-speed splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of Cape Canaveral following launch last week.
FULL STORY - with video!
Neil Armstrong honored 45 years after moon landing
Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, command module pilot Mike Collins and Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell joined NASA dignitaries and Neil Armstrong's family Monday to rename the historic Operations and Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center in honor of the first man to walk on the moon.
FULL STORY EARLIER STORY IMAGES:APOLLO 11 PHOTO FLASHBACK
Satellites crucial to collecting MH17 evidence
U.S. intelligence analysts turned to multibillion-dollar super-secret satellites in their quest to find answers to what happened to a Malaysian airliner over war-torn eastern Ukraine last week.
FULL STORY
Payload set for launch aboard next Atlas 5 rocket
The next Global Positioning System satellite was mated atop its booster rocket today, marking a critical step towards the planned July 31 launch into space.
FULL STORY LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
European mission to space station postponed
The last flight of Europe's heavy-duty Automated Transfer Vehicle heading for the International Space Station will be delayed a few days while engineers resolve a problem with the spaceship's Ariane 5 launcher, officials said Friday.
FULL STORY
Rendezvous of Cygnus chronicled in photos
Photos from the astronauts and cosmonauts living on the International Space Station show this week's special delivery of provisions, fresh food and experiments aboard a commercial Cygnus cargo craft.
IMAGES:CYGNUS MAKES SPECIAL DELIVERY
Live animals launched on two-month space mission
A high-flying package of live animals, plant seeds, and materials samples shot into space Friday aboard a retrievable Russian Foton satellite, launching a two-month mission focusing on microgravity research into biological and physical sciences.
FULL STORY IMAGES:VIDEO REPLAY AND LAUNCH PHOTOS IMAGES:SOYUZ ROLLS TO LAUNCH PAD
Rosetta sees surprising shape to spinning comet
Closing in to begin a thorough investigation in August, a camera on Europe's Rosetta comet-chasing probe has revealed its target has a few surprises in store for scientists.
FULL STORY - with images!
Space planes, rocket launches on UK's wish list
The British government has announced plans to develop a spaceport, revealing candidate sites across the United Kingdom and fostering closer ties with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to revamp regulations and lure space tourism, and potentially small satellite launches, to Britain.
FULL STORY
Orbital Sciences cargo craft arrives at space station
A commercial Cygnus cargo craft completed a smooth laser-guided approach to the International Space Station on Wednesday, resupplying the 450-ton research complex and its six-person crew with food, experiments and other gear vital to keeping the orbiting laboratory operating.
FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER CARGO MANIFEST
Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO:
CYGNUS ARRIVES AT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
HIGHLIGHTS FROM RENDEZVOUS DAY DOWNLOAD
VIDEO:
ANTARES LAUNCHES WITH CYGNUS SPACECRAFT DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
SEE LAUNCH IN HIGH-DEFINITION VIDEO DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
REPLAYS FROM VARIOUS CAMERA ANGLES DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE DOWNLOAD
A tribute was paid to the late astronaut Janice Voss on Wednesday as the Cygnus cargo craft carrying her name arrived at the International Space Station.
ESA inks deal to stimulate ship-tracking industry
The European Space Agency signed a $41 million contract with a startup Luxembourg-based spacecraft manufacturer for two microsatellites Tuesday, launching a public-private partnership to expand maritime coverage for security, safety and environmental purposes.
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Debut flight of Russia's Angara rocket in imagery
Russia's new Angara launcher took off on its first test flight Wednesday, and officials said the rocket performed as expected on a 21-minute suborbital mission departing from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome about 500 miles north of Moscow. Relive the launch with video and photos released by Roscosmos and the Russian Defense Ministry.
IMAGES:VIDEO AND PHOTOS OF LAUNCH
Payload mated for launch aboard next Delta 4 rocket
Two spacecraft that will track man-made objects and deter threats in geosynchronous orbit were hauled to the launch pad today and mounted atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 booster rocket.
FULL STORY
ULA to outfit pad for crews, pending NASA decision
United Launch Alliance has completed the design of a modified Atlas 5 launch pad to accommodate astronaut flights at Cape Canaveral, and construction workers will start installing the upgrades this fall if one of ULA's partners wins NASA funding in the commercial crew program.
FULL STORY
2014: A mid-year look at Atlas and Delta performance
It has been a hectic first six months of the year for the Atlas and Delta families of rockets, flying a combined 7 times so far in 2014. Here is a look at the year to date for United Launch Alliance and the four Atlas missions and three by Delta.
FULL STORY
Angara rocket launched on suborbital test flight
Russia's new Angara launcher lifted off on its first test flight Wednesday, inaugurating the country's first all-new rocket program in decades in a bid to end Russia's reliance on other nations and toxic fuels for access to space.
FULL STORY
Soyuz rocket sends up Russian weather satellite
A new Russian weather satellite lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, riding a Soyuz launcher into space with six small piggyback satellites from Britain, the United States and Norway.
FULL STORY IMAGES:LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY
The final shuttle launch
"On the shoulders of the space shuttle, America will continue the dream." Three years ago Tuesday, the shuttle Atlantis thundered into history on the 135th and final launch of America's Space Transportation System after 31 years of service. Relive launch day in this photo collection.
SPECIAL PHOTO GALLERY OUR LAUNCH STORY ARCHIVE MISSION STATUS CENTER VIDEO:FINAL MISSION ARCHIVE HDTV:HIGH-DEFINITION VIDEO
Prime real estate renamed in honor of Armstrong
A famed facility at the Kennedy Space Center where Apollo spacecraft were readied for the moon and NASA's next-generation Orion capsules are being built to go into deep space is being renamed for the first moonwalker, the late Neil Armstrong.
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Enthusiasm wanes for fast start to U.S. engine program
With the Obama administration, NASA and industry leaders preaching caution -- and no sign Russian rocket engine exports will end -- the rush to replace the Russian RD-180 engine used to power billions of dollars of U.S. military and scientific research satellites into space has cooled in recent weeks.
FULL STORY
Rosetta mission one month from historic comet arrival
The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft is one month from pulling alongside an icy comet and beginning the most comprehensive survey of a comet yet attempted.
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The joys of launch
A heavy blanket of fog and a persistent drizzle couldn't dampen the joy surrounding this week's Delta 2 rocket launch that saw the return of a venerable booster and a comeback for the science team.
FULL STORY IMAGES:LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY
Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO:
DELTA 2 LAUNCHES OCO 2 DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
ONBOARD CAMERA VIEW OF SEPARATION DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
A SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH DECLARED DOWNLOAD SUBSCRIBE NOW
Russian communications satellites rocket into orbit
Russia put three message relay spacecraft into orbit Thursday aboard a Rockot launcher, continuing the deployment of a fleet of civil communications satellites for the Russian government.
FULL STORY
Government argues for dismissal of SpaceX lawsuit
The U.S. government has filed a motion with the Court of Federal Claims to dismiss a key element in a lawsuit by SpaceX challenging a sole-source multi-rocket contract awarded to United Launch Alliance last December.
FULL STORY
United Launch Alliance presents a stirring hightlights video from the Delta 2 rocket carrying the OCO 2 spacecraft.
Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO:
DELTA 2 LAUNCHES OCO 2 DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
ONBOARD CAMERA VIEW OF SEPARATION DOWNLOAD
VIDEO:
FIRST LAUNCH ATTEMPT SCRUBBED DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
NARRATED REVIEW OF OCO 2 FLOW DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
NARRATED REVIEW OF DELTA 2 FLOW DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
ROLLBACK OF MOBILE SERVICE TOWER DOWNLOAD
VIDEO:
WATCH THE DELTA 2/OCO 2 PRE-LAUNCH BRIEFING DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
NARRATED PREVIEW OF THE DELTA 2/OCO 2 FLIGHT DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
WATCH THE OCO 2 SCIENCE PRE-LAUNCH BRIEFING DOWNLOAD
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OCO 2 MISSION SOUNDBITES DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
INTRODUCTION TO THE OCO 2 MISSION DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
A LOOK AT THE CARBON DIOXIDE SCIENCE DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
OVERVIEW OF THE OCO 2 PROJECT DOWNLOAD VIDEO:
OCO 2 PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING DOWNLOAD SUBSCRIBE NOW
Ferryflight Shuttle Patch Free shipping to U.S. addresses! "The Final Mission" - NASA emblem developed for the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft crew and their support teams to deliver the orbiters to their final destinations at museums. U.S. STORE WORLDWIDE STORE John Glenn Mission Patch Free shipping to U.S. addresses! The historic first orbital flight by an American is marked by this commemorative patch for John Glenn and Friendship 7. U.S. STORE WORLDWIDE STORE Final Shuttle Mission Patch Free shipping to U.S. addresses! The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is available in our store. Get this piece of history! U.S. STORE WORLDWIDE STORE Celebrate the shuttle program Free shipping to U.S. addresses! This special commemorative patch marks the retirement of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. Available in our store! U.S. STORE WORLDWIDE STORE Anniversary Shuttle Patch Free shipping to U.S. addresses! This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia's historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981. U.S. STORE WORLDWIDE STORE Mercury anniversary Free shipping to U.S. addresses!
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard's historic Mercury mission with this collectors' item, the official commemorative embroidered patch. U.S. STORE WORLDWIDE STORE Fallen Heroes Patch Collection The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store. U.S. STORE WORLDWIDE STORE Apollo Collage This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos. U.S. STORE WORLDWIDE STORE
"The Final Mission" - NASA emblem developed for the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft crew and their support teams to deliver the orbiters to their final destinations at museums.
U.S. STORE
The historic first orbital flight by an American is marked by this commemorative patch for John Glenn and Friendship 7.
The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is available in our store. Get this piece of history!
This special commemorative patch marks the retirement of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. Available in our store!
This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia's historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.
The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.
This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.
VIDEO:
THE DELTA 4 ROCKET LIFTS OFF 
