March 2015 – Page 7 – Spaceflight Now

On This Date…March 13 and STS-29

March 13, 2015 Justin Ray

#OTD in 1989, Discovery launched a new Tracking and Data Relay Satellite

Recap story: Atlas 5 rocket launches NASA satellite quartet

March 13, 2015 Justin Ray

Four magnetic explosion probes in a towering stack atop an Atlas 5 rocket rode a fountain of flame off the launch pad and into Earth orbit Thursday night for a $1.1 billion NASA science investigation into a universal force of nature.

Photos: Soyuz landing craft touches down in wintry Kazakhstan

March 12, 2015 Stephen Clark

A three-member space crew returned to Earth just after sunrise Thursday in Kazakhstan, descending through a sun-splashed sky under an orange and white parachute before dipping through fog for a rocket-cushioned touchdown on the snowy steppes of Central Asia.

Soyuz lands in Kazakhstan, returning international crew home

March 12, 2015 William Harwood

Three space station fliers — the outgoing NASA commander and two Russian cosmonauts — undocked and returned to Earth Wednesday, ending a 167-day stay in space with a communications blackout that left the crew out of contact with flight controllers during much of the trip home.

Live coverage: Atlas 5 blasts off with four NASA satellites

March 12, 2015 Justin Ray

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off Thursday night at 10:44 p.m. EDT (0244 GMT) with NASA’s four formation-flying MMS satellites.

Photos: Atlas 5 rollout

March 11, 2015 Justin Ray

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket was rolled out to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 on Wednesday morning, emerging from the Vertical Integration Facility assembly hangar where the two-stage rocket was put together.

Live coverage: Space station crew back on Earth

March 11, 2015 Stephen Clark

Three crew members departed the International Space Station on Wednesday and descended back to Earth, touching down in Kazakhstan aboard the Soyuz TMA-14M capsule at 10:08 p.m. EDT (0208 GMT Thursday).

Powerful solid rocket motor fired in Utah

March 11, 2015 Stephen Clark

A solid-fueled rocket booster fired for more than two minutes in Utah on Wednesday, spewing a torrent of glowing hot flame against a hillside in a key test for the Space Launch System, a behemoth rocket NASA is developing to send astronauts on long-distance voyages into space.

Atlas 5 rolled to the pad for Thursday night’s liftoff

March 11, 2015 Justin Ray

Riding the rails to the launch pad Wednesday morning, the Atlas 5 rocket was rolled out to Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 for liftoff Thursday night to deploy four NASA satellites that will probe Earth’s magnetosphere for a high-priority research project.

OTD…March 11 and STS-123

March 11, 2015 Justin Ray

#OTD in 2008, the launch of Endeavour on STS-123.