2015 – Page 60 – Spaceflight Now

Space-based airplane tracking demonstrated by ESA satellite

May 7, 2015 Stephen Clark

An experimental receiver aboard a European satellite has picked up signals from more than 15,000 aircraft in the last two years, paving the way for future missions that could track global commercial air traffic from space.

OTD…May 7 and STS-49

May 7, 2015 Justin Ray

#OTD…The maiden launch of shuttle Endeavour in 1992 to rescue the Intelsat 603 satellite

Photos: SpaceX’s passenger spaceship flies on first test run

May 7, 2015 Stephen Clark

It didn’t go into space, but SpaceX’s Dragon crew capsule fired off a launch pad at Cape Canaveral on Wednesday for a 99-second test flight to demonstrate a crucial safety mechanism that would save astronauts from a catastrophic rocket failure. View photos of the human-rated spacecraft’s first flight.

Out-of-control Progress cargo craft to fall back to Earth

May 6, 2015 Stephen Clark

A Russian space freighter that failed to deliver supplies to the International Space Station last week is due to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere as soon as Thursday.

NASA gives more information on its experiment aboard the X-37B

May 6, 2015 Justin Ray

In addition to carrying an Air Force electric propulsion thruster test, a materials research investigation sponsored by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center will be flying aboard the X-37B miniature spaceplane later this month.

Video: Dragon test articles flies pad abort profile

May 6, 2015 Stephen Clark

A test article of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon flew on an arcing minute-and-a-half demonstration flight over Cape Canaveral on Wednesday, launching atop eight 3D-printed rocket thrusters and descending to a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX crew capsule completes dramatic abort test

May 6, 2015 Stephen Clark

A rocket-powered prototype of SpaceX’s human-rated crew capsule vaulted off a launch pad at Cape Canaveral on Wednesday for a brief mile-high test flight of the spaceship’s emergency crew safety system.

Don’t blink: SpaceX crew escape demo will go by in a flash

May 5, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX plans to launch an unmanned test model of the company’s Dragon crew capsule Wednesday on a whirlwind 107-second flight through the skies over Cape Canaveral.

Photos: Dragon prototype poised for abort test

May 5, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s new Dragon crew ferry craft is in position for a key test Wednesday of the capsule’s safety system designed to whisk astronauts away from a dangerous rocket mishap during launch.

SpaceX preps for test of Dragon capsule’s life-saving abort system

May 4, 2015 Stephen Clark

A spaceship designed to ferry astronauts into orbit by 2017 is set for a major test Wednesday, when SpaceX plans to blast the capsule away from Cape Canaveral on a mile-high demo flight to simulate the craft’s ability to protect occupants in the event of a catastrophic rocket mishap on the pad.