January 2017 – Page 4 – Spaceflight Now

Photos: Atlas 5 rocket receives its payload for Jan. 19 launch

January 19, 2017 Justin Ray

The third Space Base Infrared Systems Geosynchronous Earth Orbit, or SBIRS GEO Flight 3, was hoisted atop the Atlas 5 on Jan.12 to complete the pre-flight assembly of the 189-foot-tall rocket for launch.

Live coverage: Atlas 5 countdown and launch journal

January 17, 2017 Justin Ray

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral today at 7:42 p.m. EST (0042 GMT) to deploy the U.S. military’s SBIRS GEO Flight 3 observatory, equipped with advanced telescopic infrared vision to spot enemy missile launches, for early warning surveillance.

SES 10 telecom satellite in Florida for launch on reused SpaceX rocket

January 17, 2017 Stephen Clark

A European-built communications satellite has arrived at Cape Canaveral for fueling and final launch preparations ahead of a planned late February liftoff aboard a Falcon 9 rocket with a previously-flown first stage booster.

Launch failure probe prompts engine swap on Soyuz crew’s rocket

January 17, 2017 Stephen Clark

Russian engineers will replace rocket engines on two Soyuz rockets assigned to send a batch of supplies and the next crew to the International Space Station after an investigation revealed foreign objects or a manufacturing defect led to the crash of a Progress cargo craft on launch in December, according to Russian media reports and a statement from the Russian space agency.

Timeline: Atlas 5/SBIRS GEO Flight 3 ascent events

January 17, 2017 Justin Ray

This is the launch timeline to be followed by the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent into orbit from Cape Canaveral with the SBIRS GEO Flight 3 satellite for U.S. military infrared reconnaissance. Launch is scheduled for Thursday at 7:46 p.m. EST (0046 GMT).

Falcon 9 booster, first recovered off West Coast, back in port

January 17, 2017 Stephen Clark

The first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket launched Saturday has returned to port in Southern California after landing on a floating platform in the Pacific Ocean, ready for refurbishment and potential reuse on a future mission.

Preview: Advanced missile detection satellite for early-warning alerts awaits liftoff

January 16, 2017 Justin Ray

Culminating years of construction and testing, a $1.2 billion satellite designed to spot and track enemy missiles threatening the United States homeland, its deployed military forces abroad or allied nations will ascend to a surveillance post in space Thursday.

Fresh views of Saturday’s Falcon 9 rocket launch

January 16, 2017 Stephen Clark

Check out more imagery of Saturday’s liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, including pictures from remote cameras at the launch pad and new video released by the U.S. Air Force.

Astronaut Gene Cernan, last Apollo moonwalker, dies at 82

January 16, 2017 William Harwood

Former astronaut Gene Cernan, a Navy pilot and veteran of NASA’s pioneering Gemini program who was the second American to walk in space and then flew to the moon twice as an Apollo astronaut, becoming the last human to leave his bootprints on its dusty surface, died Monday after a long illness. He was 82.

Experimental flight of Japanese sounding rocket falls short of orbit

January 16, 2017 Stephen Clark

A small research rocket launched from Japan fell into the Pacific Ocean on Saturday after attempting to send a student-built CubeSat into orbit, Japanese officials said.