2014
265 articles
Photos: Atlas 5 soars into space with GPS satellite
It was a beautiful blue sky day for the 50th Atlas 5 rocket launch, which successfully blasted off Wednesday from Cape Canaveral to deploy the GPS 2F-8 navigation satellite.
Branson vows to press ahead, NTSB investigation begins
Richard Branson, the charismatic leader of Virgin Galactic and a driving force in the push to commercialize space travel, vowed to find out what caused the fatal crash of his company's SpaceShipTwo rocket plane, to learn from the tragedy and to press ahead with plans to carry paying customers into space.
VideoVIDEO: NTSB news conference on start of SpaceShipTwo investigation
The NTSB's Acting Chairman Christopher Hart holds a news conference to discuss the start of the investigation into the loss of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo rocket plane over the Mojave Desert.
VideoMilitary communications satellite launched from Russia
A Russian military communications relay platform blasted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, riding a Soyuz rocket and Fregat upper stage into an egg-shaped orbit reaching nearly 25,000 miles above Earth.
Chinese probe returns from flight around the moon
Completing an eight-day test flight around the moon to verify technologies for a planned lunar sample return mission, an unpiloted Chinese space capsule re-entered Earth's atmosphere at blazing speed and parachuted to a successful landing.
VideoVIDEO: First NTSB briefing on Virgin Galactic accident
Acting NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart briefs the news media on Saturday, soon after arriving at the Mojave Air & Space Port to begin an investigation into the loss of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo.
First stage propulsion system is early focus of Antares investigation
The first sign of failure during the doomed launch of an Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares rocket from Virginia came from the rocket's first stage about 15 seconds after liftoff.
Pilot dies in crash of Virgin Galactic rocket plane
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo rocket plane crashed during a powered test flight over California's Mojave Desert on Friday, leaving one pilot dead and another seriously injured.
Initial damage assessment shows Antares pad intact
Initial inspections of the Antares rocket's launch pad in Virginia revealed the facility escape major damage after sustaining nearly a direct hit from the booster as it fell to the ground in flames seconds after liftoff.
Orbital Sciences hopes to quickly find cause of rocket failure
A day after an explosion that destroyed an Orbital Sciences Antares rocket carrying a space station cargo ship, officials said Wednesday they hope to zero in on the likely cause of the mishap within a week or so, based on a detailed review of telemetry, analysis of video and inspection of debris.