2016 – Page 61 – Spaceflight Now

Falcon 9 rocket wins landmark U.S. Air Force launch contract

April 27, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch a third-generation GPS navigation satellite for the U.S. military in 2018, the Air Force said Wednesday, breaking a monopoly held by United Launch Alliance since its formation nearly a decade ago.

Photos: Space shuttle fuel tank in Panama for passage through canal

April 27, 2016 Justin Ray

The last space shuttle external tank in existence, headed from the New Orleans manufacturing plant to the California Science Center for the vertical launch pad display of the retired orbiter Endeavour, has passed through the Panama Canal.

SpaceX announces plan to send mission to Mars in 2018

April 27, 2016 Stephen Clark

Elon Musk’s space transport company — chartered with a long-term goal of colonizing Mars — plans to send the first commercial mission to the red planet as soon as 2018, SpaceX announced Wednesday.

First countdown at new Russian cosmodrome aborted in final minutes

April 27, 2016 Stephen Clark

A Soyuz rocket counted down to launch from Russia’s new Vostochny Cosmodrome early Wednesday, but computers aborted the flight about 90 seconds before liftoff, the Russian space agency said.

Photos: Russia’s iconic Soyuz booster fires away from jungle launch pad

April 26, 2016 Stephen Clark

Five satellites rode a Soyuz booster into orbit Monday from French Guiana, and these spectacular photos from Europe’s tropical spaceport show the legendary rocket’s fiery departure from the edge of the lush Amazon jungle.

Museum-bound shuttle external tank completes transit of Panama Canal

April 26, 2016 Justin Ray

Navigating the 48-mile Panama Canal that slices through the isthmus, the final shipment of a space shuttle external fuel tank emerged into the Pacific for a three-week trek to California.

New Russian space base ready for first launch

April 26, 2016 Stephen Clark

A new $3 billion cosmodrome nestled in the remote taiga wilderness of Russia’s Far East, a sprawling, sparkling facility constructed at the behest of Russian President Vladimir Putin, will host its first rocket launch early Wednesday.

Soyuz blasts off with environmental satellite, general relativity probe

April 26, 2016 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz rocket fired off a launch pad in French Guiana Monday evening with satellite missions to monitor Earth’s environment, test Einstein’s theory of general relativity, and inspire the next generation of space engineers.

Q&A with Guido Levrini, ESA’s manager of the Copernicus space segment

April 25, 2016 Stephen Clark

Europe is in the midst of launching the most thorough space-based environmental network ever deployed, with satellites to help officials respond to natural disasters, measure crop yield, monitor the health of oceans and ice caps, and track ozone in the atmosphere. Guido Levrini from ESA spoke to Spaceflight Now about the program on the eve of Sentinel 1B’s launch.

Snapshots: Soyuz takes off

April 25, 2016 Justin Ray

A Russian-made Soyuz rocket was launched from Europe’s space base in French Guiana on Monday at 2102 GMT (6:02 p.m. local; 5:02 p.m. EDT) with the Sentinel 1B environmental satellite.