March 2016 – Page 8 – Spaceflight Now

Ariane 5 moved to launch zone with powerhouse Eutelsat satellite

March 7, 2016 Stephen Clark

An Ariane 5 rocket topped by a heavyweight communications satellite for Eutelsat emerged from its hangar in French Guiana on Monday for a railroad ride to a nearby launch pad for final flight preps.

Engineers lose control of U.S. military weather satellite

March 7, 2016 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force has been unable to send commands to the service’s newest weather satellite for nearly a month, and engineers are trying to determine if the spacecraft can be salvaged, officials said last week.

Photos: Sunset sendoff for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket

March 7, 2016 Stephen Clark

A final set of photos shows Friday’s Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral with the SES 9 communications satellite.

ULA’s candidates to replace RD-180 engine win Air Force funding

March 7, 2016 Stephen Clark

The Pentagon has awarded at least $162 million in contracts to Aerojet Rocketdyne and United Launch Alliance for development of the AR1 and BE-4 rocket engines, candidates to power the first stage of a next-generation rocket and replace the Russian-made engine currently flying on the Atlas 5 launcher.

OTD…March 6 and Kepler

March 6, 2016 Justin Ray

NASA’s Kepler planet-finder began its mission to discover Earth-like worlds orbiting other stars in the galaxy today in 2009, successfully launching aboard a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral.

Fate of NASA’s InSight Mars mission to be decided soon

March 5, 2016 Stephen Clark

NASA is close to deciding whether to spend an extra $150 million to send the InSight lander to Mars in 2018 or cancel the mission after an instrument problem made the spacecraft miss a launch opportunity this year, with a verdict on the project’s future expected within weeks, officials said.

Photos: Falcon 9 takes off at sunset

March 5, 2016 Stephen Clark

A Falcon 9 launcher bolted into the sky over Florida’s Space Coast on Friday, adding the brilliant orange glare of rocket exhaust to a spectacular sunset as the 229-foot-tall booster propelled the SES 9 communications satellite into orbit to serve the Asia-Pacific with high-definition television programming and connectivity on-the-go.

TV broadcasting satellite finally launched on Falcon 9

March 5, 2016 Stephen Clark

Powering off the planet just after sunset Friday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral with the multi-mission SES 9 communications satellite to link millions of homes, businesses, ships and airplanes across the Asia-Pacific.

Kelly describes re-adaptation to gravity, life on Earth

March 4, 2016 William Harwood

Astronaut Scott Kelly, re-adapting to gravity, people and wide open spaces after a record 340 days cooped up aboard the International Space Station, said Friday his muscles and joints are a bit sore — “just about all of ’em” — his skin is surprisingly sensitive and “I never felt completely normal up there.”

European Mars probe encapsulated for launch

March 3, 2016 Stephen Clark

Europe’s ExoMars orbiter was enclosed inside the nose cone of its Proton rocket Wednesday ahead of its March 14 launch toward the red planet.