December 2015 – Page 4 – Spaceflight Now

PSLV completes commercial launch with six Singaporean satellites

December 16, 2015 Stephen Clark

Six spacecraft for Singapore lifted off Wednesday aboard an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.

Three crew members trek from Earth to space station

December 15, 2015 William Harwood

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft streaked into space and chased down the International Space Station Tuesday, but a problem with the ferry ship’s automated rendezvous system forced commander Yuri Malenchenko to take over manual control at the last minute.

Saturn’s moons align for cosmic photo opportunity

December 15, 2015 Stephen Clark

NASA has released an image of Saturn’s moons Enceladus and Tethys caught in a rare alignment by the Cassini spacecraft, which is heading for its final close encounter with the icy moon Enceladus Saturday.

Watch a replay of Soyuz crew’s blastoff from Kazakhstan

December 15, 2015 Stephen Clark

Three crewmen from Russia, the United States and Great Britain blasted off toward the International Space Station on Tuesday, rocketing into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in pursuit of the orbiting research lab.

Live coverage: Russian-American-British crew launches toward space station

December 15, 2015 Stephen Clark

A three-man crew led by six-time space flier Yuri Malenchenko rode a Soyuz rocket into orbit Tuesday, speeding away from a Kazakh launch pad on a six-hour chase of the International Space Station. Docking occurred at 1733 GMT (12:33 p.m. EST).

Soyuz booster pointed skyward for Galileo launch

December 14, 2015 Stephen Clark

One day after a Soyuz crew transport rolled out to a launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, a similar Russian booster made a comparable journey Monday halfway around the world in tropical French Guiana for liftoff Thursday with two European Galileo navigation satellites.

Photos: Crew transport rolled out at Baikonur

December 14, 2015 Stephen Clark

Tugged along a historic route leading to the launch pad where Yuri Gagarin took off 1961 to become the first person in space, a Soyuz rocket rolled out of its assembly hangar in Kazakhstan and stood up on its launch mount Sunday.

Thales, Arianespace win repeat business with O3b

December 14, 2015 Stephen Clark

Armed with $460 million in fresh financing to grow its broadband communications capacity, O3b Networks has selected Thales Alenia Space to build eight new satellites and Arianespace to launch at least four of them aboard a Soyuz rocket in 2018.

Asteroid probe confirmed on good trajectory after Earth flyby

December 14, 2015 Stephen Clark

A Japanese space probe picked up just the right amount of speed when it flew by Earth earlier this month, using the planet’s gravity to slingshot toward an asteroid scientists think is a primordial leftover from the ancient solar system, mission managers said Monday.

Soyuz, with crew of three, set for launch to station

December 14, 2015 William Harwood

Four days after a Soyuz ferry craft brought three space station fliers down to a frigid landing in Kazakhstan, three fresh crew members are poised for launch early Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to boost the lab’s crew back to six.