2014
265 articles
New Horizons awake for Pluto encounter
Speeding through the outer solar system after a nine-year trek from Earth, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is awake and preparing for an encounter next summer with Pluto.
Photos: Orion capsule plucked from the Pacific
A recovery team stationed in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California secured NASA's Orion spacecraft and winched it into the flooded well deck of a U.S. Navy transport ship after the capsule splashed down into the sea to wrap up a successful four-and-a-half hour test flight.
Atlas 5 to sport new upper stage engine Thursday
The most powerful Atlas rocket to ever fly from the West Coast is poised for launch Thursday to deliver a secret payload into orbit while debuting a new upper stage engine.
Chinese-Brazilian Earth observation satellite launched
An Earth-watching satellite developed by China and Brazil lifted off on a Long March 4B rocket, replacing an environmental craft lost in a launch mishap last year.
Photos: Delta 4-Heavy launch gallery
The United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket lifts off with NASA's Orion ship on its inaugural space flight test at 7:05 a.m. EST Dec. 5 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Complex 37.
VideoAriane 5 sends up satellites for DirecTV, India
Two communications satellites rode an Ariane 5 rocket into space Saturday -- one to beam down ultra-sharp television programming into millions of American homes and another craft to give Indian citizens expanded access to information technology.
Live coverage: Ariane 5 blasts off on commercial flight
After a two-day delay caused by unfavorable high-altitude winds, an Ariane 5 rocket lifted off Saturday at 3:40 p.m. EST (2040 GMT) from French Guiana with communications satellites for DirecTV and India.
Orion capsule completes epic space journey
Boosted to an altitude of 3,604 miles by a Delta 4 rocket, NASA's Orion deep space exploration vehicle fell back to Earth Friday in the program's maiden voyage, slamming into the atmosphere at nearly 20,000 mph, enduring a hellish 4,000-degree re-entry and settling to a Pacific Ocean splashdown to wrap up a critical unmanned test flight.
VideoVideo: Orion splashdown seen from recovery ship
The Orion capsule splashdown as seen from the USS Anchorage recovery vessel in the Pacific.
VideoVideo: The launch of Orion
Video as seen live of the Orion spaceship launching atop a powerful Delta 4-Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral on Friday, Dec. 5.