2014
265 articles
Live coverage: All-new Indian rocket takes off on maiden flight
India's all-new GSLV Mk. 3 launcher blasted off for the first time at 0400 GMT Thursday (11 p.m. EST Wednesday) on a suborbital test flight to demonstrate a new twin-engine core stage, two powerful solid rocket boosters and a prototype capsule designed for India's planned human space program.
SpaceX expected to set new Falcon 9 launch date
Officials will likely set a new launch date Thursday for a SpaceX-owned commercial cargo craft that was expected to take off Friday heading for the International Space Station, according to sources familiar with launch preparations.
VideoRocket landing experiment on tap after SpaceX cargo launch
SpaceX hopes to take a giant leap forward in rocket technology a few minutes after Friday's scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 booster taking up 2.5 tons of critical supplies and experiments to the International Space Station.
Powerful new Indian rocket poised for suborbital test launch
Indian engineers are counting down to a test flight Thursday of a next-generation launcher to verify the performance of two powerful solid rocket motors, a twin-engine core booster and a prototype capsule designed for India's nascent human spaceflight program.
Photos: O3b satellites prepared for Soyuz launch
Four satellites designed to broadcast high-speed Internet signals to the developing world are mounted on top of a Russian-made Soyuz rocket for liftoff Thursday from the Guiana Space Center in South America. See photos of the quartet of satellites undergoing launch preparations.
Mars rover detects methane spike, organic molecules
Carefully analyzing data collected by NASA's Mars Curiosity rover, scientists discovered a sudden, unexpected spike in methane levels in the martian atmosphere over a two-month period one year ago.
Photos: SpaceX’s autonomous spaceport drone ship
An ocean-going cargo barge modified to serve as a landing pad for SpaceX's Falcon 9 booster is set to depart the Port of Jacksonville for a journey into the Atlantic Ocean ahead of Friday's launch of a space station cargo mission from Cape Canaveral.
Despite budget boost, Space Launch System will not fly before 2018
NASA's heavy-lifting mega-rocket and its ground support systems at Kennedy Space Center in Florida will not be ready for launches until at least mid-2018, even with extra funding approved by Congress, the space agency's senior human spaceflight official told lawmakers.
Photos: Soyuz booster rolls out to French Guiana launch pad
Russian rocket technicians working in the French Guiana jungle transported a three-stage Soyuz booster to its launch pad Monday and erected it upright for liftoff Thursday with four communications satellites for O3b Networks.
VideoULA year in review
A record number of Atlas 5 launches, the return of Delta 2 and a Delta 4-Heavy at the dawn of a new space exploration era highlighted 2014 for United Launch Alliance.