August 2015 – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

Tropical weather threatens Monday’s scheduled Atlas 5 launch

August 28, 2015 Justin Ray

Plans to launch a Navy communications satellite aboard an Atlas 5 rocket early Monday could be interrupted by Tropical Storm Erika, expected to strengthen into a hurricane, as the cyclone puts its sights on Florida.

OTD…Aug. 28 and STS-128

August 28, 2015 Justin Ray

#OTD in 2009…Discovery launches on her silver anniversary mission

Live coverage: Proton blasts off on return-to-flight mission

August 27, 2015 Stephen Clark

A Russian Proton rocket blasted off from Kazakhstan on Friday on a critical launch aiming to complete deployment of a major multibillion-dollar global communications network for London-based Inmarsat. Liftoff occurred at 1144 GMT (7:44 a.m. EDT), but it will take more than 15 hours to put the satellite in the correct orbit.

Indian space program buoyed by back-to-back GSLV successes

August 27, 2015 Stephen Clark

India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle soared into space Thursday and deployed a 2.3-ton communications payload into an on-target orbit, tallying its second consecutive success with an Indian cryogenic upper stage as officials prepare to declare the once-troubled launcher operational.

Chinese spy payload fired into orbit

August 27, 2015 Stephen Clark

China sent the next in a series of military-operated spy satellites into orbit Thursday aboard a Long March 4C rocket in an unannounced launch from the country’s northeastern space center.

OTD…Aug. 27 and STS-51I

August 27, 2015 Justin Ray

#OTD in 1985…Discovery launched to deploy three satellites and rendezvous with another for daring repair

Scientists eager for restart of Pluto photo pipeline

August 26, 2015 Stephen Clark

The first images from the New Horizons spacecraft since late July will come back to Earth on Sept. 5, and scientists are salivating over what the new pictures will reveal about Pluto.

Photos: HTV supply ship glistens on approach to ISS

August 26, 2015 Stephen Clark

Photos captured by astronauts on the International Space Station show a Japanese cargo freighter, covered with reflective solar panels and golden insulation, on final approach to the 250-mile-high outpost.

Countdown begins for launch of Indian military satellite

August 26, 2015 Stephen Clark

A government-owned communications satellite heading for geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above Earth is set for launch Thursday to on a nine-year mission to to support the Indian military.

Uranus, Neptune in NASA’s sights for new robotic mission

August 25, 2015 Stephen Clark

NASA has asked scientists to assess how to design and fly robotic space probes to Uranus and Neptune, the last of the solar system’s classical planets yet to be orbited, likely ensuring the huge icy worlds are near the top of the space agency’s to-do list in the coming decades.