January 2015 – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

NASA expects continued use of Soyuz in era of commercial spaceships

January 28, 2015 William Harwood

NASA hopes to begin launching astronauts to the space station aboard Boeing and SpaceX capsules in the 2017 timeframe, but managers expect to still send crews up aboard Russian spacecraft as a hedge against problems that could force some astronauts to make an emergency landing.

Live coverage: Delta 2 launches

January 28, 2015 Justin Ray

A Delta 2 rocket has lifted off from California’s Central Coast on Saturday with a NASA environmental satellite designed to improve flood and drought forecasts, map moisture in Earth’s soils, and track the planet’s water cycle.

Atlas 5 launch pad being prepared for astronaut crews

January 28, 2015 Stephen Clark

Work on Boeing’s CST-100 commercial crew capsule will ramp up at the program’s new home base in Florida this year, with construction of a crew access tower at the Atlas 5 rocket’s launch pad underway and assembly of a spacecraft test article due to begin in a converted space shuttle hangar.

Video: Delta 2/SMAP pre-launch news conference

January 28, 2015 Justin Ray

NASA, United Launch Alliance and Air Force officials hold the pre-launch news conference for the Delta 2 rocket with the agency’s SMAP environmental satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Jan. 27.

Boeing expected to win first operational space taxi order

January 27, 2015 Stephen Clark

Boeing is poised to win NASA’s first order for operational commercial missions to send up astronauts to the International Space Station, a NASA official said Monday.

All systems ‘go’ for Delta 2 rocket launch of SMAP

January 27, 2015 Justin Ray

The SMAP observatory to map soil moisture distribution from 426 miles in space and its workhorse booster have been cleared for launch Thursday morning from California.

SpaceX confirms first Crew Dragon flights will return to ocean landings

January 27, 2015 Stephen Clark

The human-rated Crew Dragon spacecraft being developed by SpaceX will return to Earth under parachutes for splashdowns in ocean, and not execute helicopter-like propulsive touchdowns on land, a SpaceX official confirmed Monday.

Boeing, SpaceX on track for commercial crew flights to station in 2017

January 27, 2015 William Harwood

NASA expects to spend some $5 billion underwriting development of commercial spacecraft built by Boeing and SpaceX to carry astronauts to and from the space station, ending reliance on the Russians for crew flights and lowering the average cost per seat to around $58 million.

Weather looking good for Delta 2 launch

January 27, 2015 Justin Ray

The weather outlook is 80 percent favorable for launch of the Delta 2 rocket early Thursday morning from California, with cloud thickness posing the only worry, meteorologists report.

New discoveries from Rosetta put comet 67P in focus

January 26, 2015 Stephen Clark

Scientists have released new findings from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission, adding fresh pages to a catalog of comet data that officials promise will swell with more discoveries over the rest of the year.