February 2016 – Page 5 – Spaceflight Now

Launch of Japanese X-ray observatory postponed

February 11, 2016 Stephen Clark

The Japanese space agency said Thursday the launch of an X-ray astrophysics observatory is postponed from Friday due to a poor weather forecast at the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.

Gravitational waves detected, opening new era in astronomy

February 11, 2016 William Harwood

A century after Albert Einstein predicted their existence, gravitational waves have finally been detected, tiny ripples in the fabric of spacetime that were generated when two massive black holes crashed together in a space-warping cataclysm.

Photos: More Delta 4 launch shots

February 11, 2016 Justin Ray

The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket blasts into the predawn skies at Vandenberg Air Force Base with the NROL-45 payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

Photos: Delta 4 launches on secret NROL-45 mission

February 10, 2016 Justin Ray

A collection of pad photos from the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket flight to deploy the NROL-45 spy satellite payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

Delta 4 goes against the grain to backwards orbit for spy bird

February 10, 2016 Justin Ray

Soaring in fine fashion before daybreak, a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket maneuvered a new spy satellite into a unique retrograde orbit Wednesday morning to join an expanding constellation of radar-imaging spacecraft.

Last flight of the Titan

February 10, 2016 Spaceflight Now

The mighty Titan — a pillar in American rocketry for five decades — flew into orbit for the final time on October 19, 2005, capping a distinguished career of heavy-lifting that has spanned America’s space age.

Video: Delta 4 launches before dawn from California

February 10, 2016 Justin Ray

A replay of the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket launching on the NROL-45 satellite-deployment mission for the National Reconnaissance Office from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Photos: Delta 4 rocket revealed

February 10, 2016 Justin Ray

The 32-story-tall mobile service tower is retracted from the Delta 4 rocket at Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 6 pad for the NROL-45 flight that will place a surveillance satellite into orbit for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

Live coverage: Delta 4 countdown and launch journal

February 9, 2016 Justin Ray

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 3:40 a.m. local (6:40 a.m. EST; 1140 GMT) today to place a secret payload into space for the National Reconnaissance Office. Follow the mission in our live journal.

SES says SpaceX will launch its satellite in late February

February 9, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s next launch from Cape Canaveral is set for Feb. 24, when a Falcon 9 rocket will carry a commercial television broadcasting satellite aloft for Luxembourg-based SES, the payload’s owner announced Monday.