September 2015 – Page 5 – Spaceflight Now

OTD…Sept. 16 and STS-79

September 16, 2015 Justin Ray

#OTD…in 1996, Atlantis launched to Russia’s space station Mir

Build-up of crew access tower begins at Atlas 5 pad

September 15, 2015 Stephen Clark

A new fixture on the Cape Canaveral skyline began rising Tuesday with the placement of the first of seven segments for a 200-foot-tall crew access tower at the Atlas 5 rocket’s seaside launch pad for astronauts boarding Boeing’s new commercial CST-100 Starliner spaceship.

Bezos to locate commercial rocket base in Florida

September 15, 2015 Stephen Clark

Blue Origin, the burgeoning, often secretive space company led by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, revealed plans Tuesday to build and launch reusable rockets on Florida’s Space Coast, adding another commercial tenant for historic real estate at Cape Canaveral.

‘Big three’ nab commercial launch contracts

September 15, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX announced Monday two new Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rocket missions from Cape Canaveral, Arianespace said it cinched a contract to launch a Japanese TV broadcasting satellite, and International Launch Services revealed a deal to launch a Spanish telecommunications payload, ending a drought in commercial Proton launch orders.

China conducts two space launches in short span

September 14, 2015 Stephen Clark

Two space launches from China in a 37-hour span have placed an experimental communications satellite and a sharp-eyed Earth-viewing craft into orbit, according to Chinese state media reports.

Proton rocket takes off with Express AM8 communications bird

September 14, 2015 Stephen Clark

A Proton rocket fired away from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, kicking off a nearly seven-hour flight that concluded with the high-altitude delivery of a new Russian communications satellite into orbit.

Commercial Atlas 5 rocket stacking begins for Mexican launch

September 14, 2015 Justin Ray

Assembly of a 19-story Atlas rocket started today for a commercial launch next month to aid Mexico’s telecommunications reform aimed at economic growth and the betterment of its societal welfare.

New Russian telecom satellite awaits launch Monday

September 12, 2015 Stephen Clark

A new multipurpose Russian communications satellite to be parked over the Atlantic Ocean is awaiting launch Monday aboard a Proton rocket.

Photos: Soyuz blasts off from the jungle

September 12, 2015 Stephen Clark

A late-night liftoff Thursday lit up the forested shoreline of South America as a Russian-made Soyuz rocket streaked into orbit with two new satellites for Europe’s Galileo navigation system. Relive the launch with a video replay and photos of the fiery departure.

Soyuz lands safely in Kazakhstan

September 12, 2015 William Harwood

Three space station crew members — two short timers completing a 10-day flight and a veteran cosmonaut who has logged a world record 879 days aloft over five missions — undocked from the International Space Station and returned to Earth Friday, landing safely on the steppe of Kazakhstan to close out a problem-free flight.