January 2017 – Page 5 – Spaceflight Now

Photos: Falcon 9 returns to flight with weekend launch from California

January 15, 2017 Stephen Clark

Launching for the first time in four-and-a-half months, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Saturday morning with 10 satellites for Iridium’s space-based message relay network.

Weather forecast now 80 percent ‘go’ for Thursday’s Atlas 5 rocket launch

January 15, 2017 Justin Ray

Meteorologists are anticipating favorable odds of good weather during the countdown to launch an Atlas 5 rocket and U.S. military satellite on Thursday evening from Cape Canaveral.

Watch as Falcon 9 launches with 10 Iridium satellites and its first stage lands

January 15, 2017 Spaceflight Now

Watch the first SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch since a catastrophic launch pad explosion at Cape Canaveral. The Falcon 9 first stage was successfully recovered after landing on a floating platform in the Pacific.

SpaceX resumes flights with on-target launch for Iridium

January 14, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket climbed into orbit from California’s Central Coast on Saturday, resuming service after an explosive setback last year and delivering much-needed reinforcements to Iridium’s satellite constellation providing communications by land, sea and sky.

Skywatchers: Get your Iridium flare fix now

January 14, 2017 Stephen Clark

The launch of the first batch of new-generation Iridium communications satellites Saturday marked the beginning of the end for the predictable, spectacular flares of reflected sunlight produced by the old-design craft, a favorite of amateur skywatchers for nearly two decades.

Live coverage: SpaceX resumes launches from California

January 14, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s first launch since August took off Saturday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. A Falcon 9 rocket deployed the first 10 next-generation Iridium communications satellites, part of a $3 billion upgrade to the company’s space network. Liftoff occurred at 9:54 a.m. PST (12:54 p.m. EST; 1754 GMT), and the Falcon 9’s first stage landed on a barge in the Pacific a few minutes later.

Timeline for Falcon 9 rocket’s launch of 10 Iridium satellites

January 13, 2017 Stephen Clark

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the first 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet.

Falcon 9 rocket ready for all-important return to service Saturday

January 13, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX rolled a fully-assembled Falcon 9 booster out of its hangar and lifted it on top of a launch pad Friday for the first time since an explosion grounded the commercial rocket last year, setting the stage for a one-second launch window Saturday to take off from California’s Central Coast and deploy the first 10 satellites in orbit for a $3 billion upgrade to Iridium’s globe-spanning message relay network.

Video: Highlights of second Expedition 50 spacewalk

January 13, 2017 Justin Ray

Video highlight reel of Expedition 50 commander Shane Kimbrough and flight engineer Thomas Pesquet conducting six-hour spacewalk on Jan. 13.

Station astronauts complete second battery swap spacewalk

January 13, 2017 William Harwood

Two space station astronauts carried out a trouble-free five-hour 58-minute spacewalk Friday, completing complex battery replacement work on the right side of the lab’s solar power truss with enough time left over to carry out a variety of lower-priority “get-ahead” tasks.