November 2015 – Spaceflight Now

ExoMars nears launch, thanks to nonstop work in factory

November 30, 2015

Working around the clock to meet a 12-day launch window in March, European engineers are putting the final touches on a Mars orbiter that could shed light on whether tiny microbes or geologic activity still linger on the barren planet.

ExoMars orbiter and lander on display

November 30, 2015

The European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli lander were recently presented to the media as they prepare for a tandem launch to the red planet in March.

Atlas 5/Cygnus OA-4 launch timeline

November 30, 2015

Follow the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent into orbit from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad with the Orbital ATK Cygnus resupply ship for the International Space Station. Launch is scheduled for Thursday at 5:55 p.m. EST (2255 GMT).

International Space Station and crew awaiting Atlas 5 launch of Cygnus

November 29, 2015

Lending a helping hand to resume the stalled U.S. supply chain to the International Space Station, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will send a commercial Cygnus cargo craft in pursuit of the outpost Thursday.

Radar spy satellite launched by China

November 27, 2015

China launched its latest military spy satellite Thursday with the successful deployment of the Yaogan 29 payload in polar orbit, likely adding a new radar reconnaissance craft to the country’s space fleet.

Aerojet Rocketdyne wins propulsion contracts worth nearly $1.4 billion

November 27, 2015

NASA and Boeing have awarded Aerojet Rocketdyne widely-anticipated contracts to restart the production of simplified shuttle-era rocket engines for the heavy-lift Space Launch System and supply the propulsion system for the CST-100 Starliner commercial crew capsule, officials announced this week.

Photos: H-2A rocket launches satellite for Canadian company

November 26, 2015

A powerful H-2A launcher, boosted by four strap-on rocket motors and an upgraded second stage, lifted off from Japan on Tuesday with a multipurpose communications satellite for Ottawa-based Telesat. Check out photos of the H-2A rocket soaring into clear skies.

Bezos-backed Blue Origin achieves rocket landing

November 24, 2015

A suborbital rocket booster built by Blue Origin, an entrepreneurial space firm founded by Internet tycoon Jeff Bezos, streaked into space in the skies over West Texas and descended to a pinpoint propulsive touchdown on a landing pad, the company announced Tuesday.

Q&A with Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin

November 24, 2015

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, the Internet pioneer behind Amazon.com, spoke with reporters Nov. 24 after a historic flight of the company’s suborbital New Shepard launch vehicle that ended with a successful vertical rocket-assisted touchdown at a landing pad in West Texas.

Photos: Assembling Atlas 5 for International Space Station launch

November 24, 2015

Relive the steps to stack the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral’s Vertical Integration Facility for the Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo freighter for the space station. The first stage was erected initially, followed by the interstage and Centaur stage, then the encapsulated payload.