August 2017 – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

Watch a replay of the Falcon 9 launch and landing

August 24, 2017 Spaceflight Now

Watch a replay of the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from California carrying Taiwan’s Formosat 5 Earth observation satellite.

Falcon 9 launch timeline with Formosat 5

August 24, 2017 Stephen Clark

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the Formosat 5 Earth observation satellite for Taiwan’s National Space Organization.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket soars into space from California

August 24, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched its 12th Falcon 9 rocket of the year Thursday from California with Taiwan’s Formosat 5 Earth observation satellite. The two-stage rocket lifted off at 11:51 a.m. PDT (2:51 p.m. EDT; 1851 GMT) and deployed the Taiwanese-built spacecraft into polar orbit. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster successfully landed on a drone ship downrange in the Pacific Ocean.

Eclipse chasers keep fingers crossed for clear skies

August 21, 2017 William Harwood

With thrilling cosmic clockwork, the moon will pass in front of the sun Monday, casting a 70-mile-wide shadow that will sweep across the United States from coast to coast, giving millions along the “path of totality” a chance to marvel at one of nature’s grandest spectacles, a total eclipse of the sun.

Pioneering ESA mission aims to create artificial solar eclipses

August 20, 2017 Stephen Clark

As skywatchers and scientists converge on a transcontinental band of totality for Monday’s solar eclipse in the United States, engineers in Europe are building a unique pair of satellites to create artificial eclipses lasting for hours — a feat that that could be a boon for solar physicists but will escape the view of Earth-bound spectators.

Assembly complete for Minotaur launcher at Cape Canaveral

August 19, 2017 Stephen Clark

Using industrial cranes at a no-frills launch pad on the eastern tip of Cape Canaveral, a team of Orbital ATK and U.S. Air Force technicians have fully stacked a modified Cold War-era missile set for launch next week with a $49 million satellite built to track other objects in orbit.

Falcon 9 rocket test-fired for California launch next week

August 19, 2017 Stephen Clark

A commercial Falcon 9 rocket in the final stages of launch preparations fired its nine Merlin main engines Saturday at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, verifying its readiness for liftoff with a Taiwanese Earth-imaging payload Thursday.

Photos: Atlas sends up new NASA satellite

August 19, 2017 Justin Ray

NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-M, a communications router for the space station and dozens of science spacecraft, blasted off from Cape Canaveral at 8:29 a.m. EDT on Friday atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

Japan launches navigation satellite after week-long delay

August 19, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Japanese H-2A rocket soared away from a launch pad on a rocky overlook on the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, hauling into orbit the country’s third Michibiki satellite to join a constellation of navigation aids to improve positioning services across the country.

Video: H-2A rocket lifts off from Tanegashima

August 19, 2017 Stephen Clark

Japan’s 35th H-2A rocket blasted off Saturday from the Tanegashima Space Center, flying into orbit in its most powerful configuration with a geostationary navigation satellite.