December 2015 – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

Photos: Taller, souped-up Falcon 9 on the launch pad

December 20, 2015 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, built with extended propellant tanks and engines rated for higher thrust, is poised for liftoff on the company’s first launch since a catastrophic failure in June grounded the commercial booster.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket launches, and lands, at Cape Canaveral

December 20, 2015 Stephen Clark

In a fiery, dramatic comeback for SpaceX, a Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, streaking into orbit as its booster stage returned to a historic landing on Florida’s Space Coast in a key achievement aimed at slashing the cost of space transportation. Eleven communications satellites for Orbcomm were deployed in orbit in the flight’s prime objective.

Rocket landing at Cape Canaveral planned after SpaceX launch

December 19, 2015 Stephen Clark

Assuming SpaceX’s plans come to fruition, a Falcon 9 flight from Cape Canaveral on Sunday will end with a vertical rocket-assisted landing at an abandoned Cold War-era launch facility a few miles away.

Hubble telescope’s successor has a ride to space

December 19, 2015 Stephen Clark

The European Space Agency has cinched an agreement with Arianespace for the October 2018 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, which will dispatch the nearly $10 billion observatory on a bold mission that promises to rewrite astronomy textbooks.

SpaceX scheduled to return Falcon 9 rocket to flight Sunday

December 19, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX says Sunday is the target launch date for the first launch of a remodeled version of its Falcon 9 rocket, and the launcher’s first mission since a June failure, after completing a practice countdown and engine ignition test Friday.

Soyuz launches two more Galileo satellites

December 17, 2015 Stephen Clark

Two more satellites joined Europe’s Galileo navigation fleet in orbit Thursday after launch from French Guiana aboard a Soyuz rocket, giving the system a dozen of its planned 30 members as the European Commission begins ordering eight more satellites to complete construction of the multibillion-dollar network.

China sends dark matter probe into orbit

December 17, 2015 Stephen Clark

China launched the first in a series of planned space science probes Thursday, putting a satellite into orbit to study high-energy cosmic rays for signals that could hint at hypothesized clumps of dark matter that have eluded detection for decades.

Live coverage: Soyuz launches on 13th flight from French Guiana

December 17, 2015 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz rocket flew into space from the edge of the Amazon on Thursday, carrying a pair of European navigation satellites in the third launch in nine months for the multibillion-dollar Galileo program. Liftoff from French Guiana occurred on time at 1151:56 GMT (6:51:56 a.m. EST).

Soyuz/Galileo launch timeline

December 17, 2015 Stephen Clark

Follow the key events of the Soyuz rocket’s ascent into orbit from the Guiana Space Center with two satellites for Europe’s Galileo navigation system.

Q&A with Stéphane Israël, chairman and CEO of Arianespace

December 16, 2015 Stephen Clark

Arianespace chief executive Stéphane Israël discussed his company’s outlook with Spaceflight Now, touching on the light-class Vega rocket’s business prospects, the launch manifest in 2016, Arianespace’s view of innovation in the launch market, and his plans to compete in the next decade.