January 2016 – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

Blue Origin’s reusable New Shepard booster flies again

January 23, 2016 Stephen Clark

Two months after it flew into space and landed smoothly, Blue Origin’s suborbital New Shepard booster made the trip again Friday, proving it can be reused for future space tourism jaunts and laying the groundwork for a future commercial satellite launcher, the company said.

The Space Shuttle Challenger Accident Investigation

January 23, 2016 Spaceflight Now

A NASA video on the investigation into the Challenger accident of January 28, 1986. The video was created by the STS 51-L Data and Design Analysis Task Force which contributed to the Presidential Commission that investigated the tragedy. (Membership required)

Cygnus sections arrive in Florida for next space station cargo launch

January 22, 2016 Justin Ray

Elements of the next U.S. commercial cargo-delivery trip to the International Space Station are coming together at Kennedy Space Center for the planned March 10 liftoff.

OTD…Jan. 22 and STS-42

January 22, 2016 Justin Ray

#OTD in 1992…Discovery launched with the first International Microgravity Laboratory.

Dragon crew capsule’s propulsive landing system tested

January 21, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX released a video Thursday showing a propulsive hover test of a prototype of the company’s Dragon crew capsule conducted two months ago, a milestone in the development of the spaceship’s rocket packs that will eventually guide the craft to helicopter-like landings.

Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft breaks solar power distance record

January 21, 2016 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Juno spacecraft bound for a rendezvous with Jupiter in July has set a record as the most distant solar-powered space probe ever flown.

SpaceX rocket wreckage back on shore after near-miss at landing

January 20, 2016 Stephen Clark

Debris from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket booster returned to shore in Southern California late Monday after it tipped over on touchdown on a landing platform in the Pacific Ocean following liftoff with a ocean study satellite.

PSLV lofts satellite for India’s indigenous navigation system

January 20, 2016 Stephen Clark

The fifth satellite for India’s regional navigation network rode into orbit Wednesday aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, joining a growing fleet of spacecraft to provide positioning services to users across South Asia.

Bridging the past and future on the shoulders of the Atlas rocket

January 19, 2016 Justin Ray

On top of an Atlas rocket, the place where orbital spaceflight for American astronauts began, will sit Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to launch humans into space starting next year.

Fifth Indian navigation satellite set for liftoff

January 19, 2016 Stephen Clark

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is scheduled to deploy the fifth satellite in the country’s regional navigation network Wednesday.