September 2017 – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

Suomi NPP sees Hurricane Maria’s startling effect on Puerto Rico power grid

September 26, 2017 Stephen Clark

A light scanner aboard NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite sensitive to city lights, wildfires and volcanic eruptions has returned views of Puerto Rico before and after the passage of Hurricane Maria, showing the island’s electrical grid ravaged in the aftermath of the storm.

AsiaSat communications payload ready for Proton launch

September 26, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Russian Proton rocket topped with a commercial U.S.-built communications satellite for AsiaSat is standing on a launch pad in Kazakhstan for liftoff Thursday.

SpaceX sets target launch dates for back-to-back flights next month

September 26, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX engineers are readying two Falcon 9 rockets for launches Oct. 7 and Oct. 9 from Florida and California, setting up another quick turnaround to first deploy a large TV broadcasting satellite for SES and EchoStar over the United States with a previously-flown booster, then add 10 more spacecraft to Iridium’s fleet of new-generation voice and data relay network.

NRO payload paired with Atlas 5 rocket for another national security launch

September 26, 2017 Justin Ray

A payload critical to the nation was mounted atop its Atlas 5 rocket this morning in preparation for next week’s launch into orbit.

GRACE satellites to end research mission in November, before replacements launch

September 26, 2017 Stephen Clark

Two U.S.-German satellites launched more than 15 years ago to measure Earth’s changing gravity field will stop collecting data in November, a few months before a pair of replacement craft will launch to resume gravity measurements, NASA officials said.

Photos: News media images of Atlas 5 launch

September 24, 2017 Justin Ray

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket leaves Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on the NROL-42 satellite-deployment mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Photos: Atlas 5 powers NRO payload into the night

September 24, 2017 Justin Ray

The Atlas 5 rocket blasts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for its late-night ascent to deploy the NROL-42 payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Signals intelligence gatherer successfully launched by powerful Atlas 5 rocket

September 24, 2017 Spaceflight Now

A signals intercepter for the U.S. spy satellite agency was successfully launched into a high orbit over the top of the world by an Atlas 5 rocket on Saturday night.

Photos: Gantry rolled back to reveal Atlas 5 rocket for launch

September 24, 2017 Justin Ray

The mobile service tower retracts from the Atlas 5 rocket, revealing the 197-foot-tall vehicle for liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, carrying the classified NROL-42 national security payload for the U.S. government.

Video: NROL-42 launch aboard the Atlas 5 rocket

September 24, 2017 Justin Ray

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, standing 197 feet tall and and weighing 1.2 million pounds, unleashes 2.4 million pounds of thrust from its main engine and four side-mounted solid boosters to launch the secret NROL-42 payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.