May 2017 – Page 6 – Spaceflight Now

First core of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket fired in Texas

May 10, 2017 Stephen Clark

The center section of SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy rocket has been test-fired at the launch company’s test facility in Central Texas, a sign of progress toward the behemoth booster’s long-delayed maiden mission scheduled some time in the final months of 2017.

Satellite for broadband on-the-go next in rapid-fire SpaceX launch campaign

May 10, 2017 Stephen Clark

A powerhouse communications satellite owned by Inmarsat has been fueled for liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Monday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a mission to provide broadband links for passengers and crews aboard ships and airplanes, while technicians are loading space station-bound supplies into a commercial Dragon cargo capsule and preparing a Bulgarian telecom for launch on two other SpaceX boosters by mid-June.

Cassini downlinks view of Titan’s methane clouds on third loop inside rings

May 9, 2017 Stephen Clark

The Cassini spacecraft captured a captivating image of wispy methane clouds suspended above Titan’s hydrocarbon lakes as the probe headed for its third shot through Saturn’s ring gap Tuesday.

James Webb Space Telescope shipped to Texas for its biggest test yet

May 9, 2017 Stephen Clark

The centerpiece of the James Webb Space Telescope has arrived at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for a three-month test to ensure the observatory’s sensors and gold-coated mirrors work in the frigid temperatures of deep space.

Photos: Sunday’s return of X-37B after 718 days in space

May 8, 2017 Justin Ray

This gallery of U.S. Air Force photos show technicians, wearing protective SCAPE suits, initially check for hazardous hypergolic fuel vapors around the X-37B spaceplane on the Shuttle Landing Facility runway and the subsequent tow of the vehicle to its newly-renovated hangar at the Kennedy Space Center.

Video: Sunday’s landing of X-37B at Kennedy Space Center

May 7, 2017 Justin Ray

The U.S. military’s mini space shuttle successfully returned to Earth today, touching down on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility after spending 718 days in space.

X-37B spaceplane returns to Earth and makes autopilot landing in Florida

May 7, 2017 Justin Ray

The Air Force’s robotic X-37B mini space shuttle swooped out of obscurity today after 718 days spent in orbit on a secretive military mission, touching down at the Kennedy Space Center’s orbiter runway on autopilot, the military announced on Twitter.

India launches satellite linking its South Asian neighbors

May 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

An Indian Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle lifted off under a veil of secrecy Friday with a nearly 2.5-ton spacecraft designed to relay video broadcasts and data between India and its South Asian neighbors.

Bulgaria’s first communications satellite to ride SpaceX’s second reused rocket

May 5, 2017 Stephen Clark

A U.S.-built, Bulgarian-owned broadcast satellite will launch in mid-June from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a previously-used SpaceX Falcon 9 booster that first flew in January, officials said Friday.

Launches resume in French Guiana with dual-payload Ariane 5 flight

May 4, 2017 Stephen Clark

Running more than six weeks late after social unrest in French Guiana forced the closure of Europe’s launch base there, a commercial Ariane 5 rocket took off Thursday just after sunset with a pair of communications satellites manufactured in France for owners in Brazil and South Korea.