March 2017 – Page 8 – Spaceflight Now

Next Cygnus commercial space freighter christened the S.S. John Glenn

March 9, 2017 Justin Ray

Orbital ATK’s next commercial resupply freighter going to the International Space Station will be named the S.S. John Glenn, paying tribute to the legendary first American to orbit the Earth.

Photos: The S.S. John Glenn freighter readied to launch

March 9, 2017 Justin Ray

The two structural elements of Orbital ATK’s OA-7 Cygnus space freighter were delivered to Kennedy Space Center for final assembly, the packing of cargo and launch to the International Space Station.

Photos: Atlas 5 rocket assembled to launch the S.S. John Glenn

March 9, 2017 Justin Ray

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, flying in its basic two-stage configuration with no strap-on solids, was stacked aboard a mobile launch platform at Cape Canaveral’s Vertical Integration Facility on Feb. 22 and 23 in preparation to send Orbital ATK’s S.S. John Glenn cargo ship into orbit for the International Space Station.

Photos: Vega rocket vaults off launch pad

March 7, 2017 Stephen Clark

Firing off the launch pad with more than a half-million pounds of thrust, a Vega rocket soared into space Monday night from French Guiana with Europe’s Sentinel 2B environmental satellite.

Lightning mapper beams back first views from space

March 7, 2017 Stephen Clark

A sensitive infrared camera mounted on NOAA’s new GOES-16 weather satellite has captured its first astounding images of lightning flashes from a perch more than 22,000 miles out in space.

Blue Origin details new rocket’s capabilities, signs first orbital customer

March 7, 2017 Stephen Clark

Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos revealed new details of his space company’s reusable orbital-class booster Tuesday, releasing an animation illustrating the rocket’s liftoff from Cape Canaveral and announcing a contract with Eutelsat to put a commercial communications satellite on one of the launcher’s first missions.

Watch a time-lapse of the Falcon 9 rocket going vertical

March 7, 2017 Spaceflight Now

A Falcon 9 rocket is lifted into position for a planned countdown dress rehearsal at launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The rocket is being readied for launch early Sunday with the EchoStar 23 communications satellite.

Environmental sentinel launched from French Guiana

March 7, 2017 Stephen Clark

A European environmental satellite rode a solid-fueled Vega launcher from a tropical spaceport at the edge of the Amazon jungle into polar orbit Monday night, adding a new eye in the sky to check on the health of crops and forests from space.

Sierra Nevada to resume Dream Chaser flight tests

March 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

An atmospheric test model of Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser space plane is being readied for tow and landing tests at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California this spring.

Live coverage: European environmental satellite launched by Vega rocket

March 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Vega rocket launched from French Guiana at 0149:24 GMT Tuesday (8:49:24 p.m. EST Monday) with Europe’s fifth Sentinel environmental satellite. The Sentinel 2B observatory will take the pulse of Earth’s vegetation, monitoring crops, forests, urban sprawl, and pollution from polar orbit.