April 2015 – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

OTD…April 28 and STS-39

April 28, 2015

OTD…Launch of Discovery in 1991 on a Defense Department research flight

Video: Russian cargo ship spinning

April 28, 2015

A video camera aboard Russian Progress cargo ship reveals craft is spinning dramatically in orbit as it passes in range of ground station communications.

Russians scramble to restore cargo ship communications

April 28, 2015

A Russian Progress supply ship loaded with more than 3 tons of supplies and equipment bound for the International Space Station apparently spun out of control shortly after reaching orbit Tuesday, putting the resupply mission in jeopardy while flight controllers scrambled to come up with a fix.

Antenna snag strikes Progress cargo freighter

April 28, 2015

Russian ground controllers decided Tuesday to delay the docking of a Progress supply freighter to the International Space Station until Thursday after telemetry signals indicated two radar navigation antennas may not have deployed following the ship’s launch from Kazakhstan.

Falcon 9 rocket powers into space with satellite for Turkmenistan

April 28, 2015

A communications satellite for Turkmenistan soared into orbit Monday, climbing through gloomy skies over Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to give the Central Asian nation its first foothold in space.

New details emerge about electric propulsion experiment aboard X-37B

April 27, 2015

All systems are now “go” for launch of the Air Force’s X-37B mystery spaceplane on May 20 from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas 5 rocket.

Turkmenistan’s first satellite braced for liftoff

April 27, 2015

SpaceX ground crews transferred a Falcon 9 rocket to its seaside launch mount at Cape Canaveral on Sunday evening in preparation for liftoff Monday with Turkmenistan’s first satellite.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches its fifth Falcon 9 flight of the year

April 27, 2015

Turkmenistan’s first satellite has blasted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida after a weather delay. Liftoff occurred at 7:03 p.m. EDT (2303 GMT).

Ariane 5 sends Thor 7 and Sicral 2 satellites into orbit

April 26, 2015

Blasting into space atop an Ariane 5 launcher, two communications satellites started missions Sunday to beam broadband services to ships, airplanes and offshore oil rigs for a commercial Norwegian operator and relay signals for the Italian and French armed forces.

OTD…April 26 and STS-55

April 26, 2015

#OTD…Launch of Columbia in 1993 on the second flight of the German Spacelab