December 2015 – Page 6 – Spaceflight Now

With widespread salts and ices, Ceres in a class of its own

December 10, 2015 Stephen Clark

The dwarf planet Ceres turns out to be a world with untold wonders, with vivid bright spots likely made of dried mineral salts and hazes apparently triggered by daytime heating, drawing a comparison to comets and strikingly differentiating it from neighboring bodies in the asteroid belt.

SpaceX eyes Dec. 19 for first launch since June

December 10, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is targeting Dec. 19 for a critical commercial launch that will double as the debut flight of an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket and the company’s return-to-flight mission after a failure six months ago halted SpaceX’s busy launch manifest.

Zenit rocket raised on launch pad for possible final flight

December 9, 2015 Stephen Clark

In the run up to what may be the final flight of a Zenit launcher, a Russian-Ukrainian creation that ushered in a new era of Soviet-era rocketry, ground crews transferred the powerful booster to a launch pad Wednesday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Long March lofts communications craft for Chinese government

December 9, 2015 Stephen Clark

A Long March 3B rocket driven by four strap-on boosters blasted off Wednesday from the Xichang space base in southwestern China, delivering a communications payload to orbit a half-hour later to likely begin service for the Chinese military.

Russian reconnaissance satellite re-enters atmosphere

December 9, 2015 Stephen Clark

A Russian satellite burned up in Earth’s atmosphere Tuesday, less than three days after it failed to deploy from its rocket after reaching orbit, according to tracking data released by the U.S. military.

Q&A with Alvaro Gimenez, ESA’s director of science

December 9, 2015 Stephen Clark

Alvaro Giménez Cañete manages the European Space Agency’s science program, a portfolio with a budget of nearly $600 million this year, and he recently spoke with Spaceflight Now about Europe’s hopes to build a gravitational wave observatory, the ExoMars mission to Mars, and tagging along with NASA’s probe to Jupiter’s moon Europa.

Latest Global Positioning System satellite goes live

December 9, 2015 Justin Ray

The newest Global Positioning System replenishment satellite went into operation Tuesday night, five weeks after ascending to space from Cape Canaveral atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

Akatsuki probe relays its first images from Venus orbit

December 9, 2015 Stephen Clark

Japanese scientists released Wednesday the first views of Venus captured by the Akatsuki spacecraft after arriving in orbit this week, setting the stage for regular observations of the planet’s blistering atmosphere over the next few years.

U.S. resupply of space station successfully resumes

December 9, 2015 Justin Ray

The astronauts living aboard the International Space Station snagged a free-flying commercial cargo ship filled with a bounty of supplies and new science this morning, pulling the vessel aboard as the two craft flew in formation 252 miles above the world.

Photos: Cygnus up, up and away aboard Atlas 5

December 8, 2015 Justin Ray

More photos show the successful liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket flight carrying the Cygnus commercial cargo spacecraft for Orbital ATK and the International Space Station.