2017 – Page 79 – Spaceflight Now

Japanese cargo ship ends mission after space debris experiment flounders

February 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

Japan’s HTV supply ship fell to Earth on Sunday more than a week after leaving the International Space Station, burning up in the atmosphere after officials gave up on an experiment looking into ways to remove space junk from orbit.

ULA’s navy delivers rocket that will launch supplies to the space station

February 5, 2017 Justin Ray

The ocean-sailing ship that transports rocket stages from United Launch Alliance’s factory to U.S. launch sites completed its latest voyage overnight, pulling into port to deliver the Atlas 5 that will send a cargo freighter to the International Space Station in March.

Russia recalls rocket engines, grounding Proton missions until spring

February 3, 2017 Stephen Clark

The Russian government is investigating flaws found in Proton rocket engines, ordering all suspect components to be replaced before the heavy-lift booster can resume launches and promising penalties for those responsible for allowing substandard parts to slip through inspection.

SpaceX rocket tagged for reuse test-fired in Texas

February 3, 2017 Stephen Clark

The Falcon 9 first stage booster assigned to launch as soon as March on SpaceX’s first mission with a previously-flown rocket has been test-fired at the company’s development facility in Central Texas.

WorldView 4 high-resolution satellite now open for business in space

February 3, 2017 Justin Ray

Less than three months after rocketing into space, the commercial WorldView 4 Earth-imagery satellite has finished in-orbit testing and calibration to begin operations for DigitalGlobe.

Juno dives over Jupiter’s cloud tops with main engine still offline

February 2, 2017 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Juno spacecraft made a high-speed pass less than 3,000 miles over Jupiter’s turbulent clouds Thursday, taking dozens of pictures, measuring radiation and plasma waves, and peering deep inside the planet’s atmosphere, but officials still have not cleared the orbiter’s main engine for a planned maneuver to position the probe in its intended science orbit.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx probe moonlights as asteroid sleuth

February 1, 2017 Stephen Clark

On course to collect specimens from asteroid Bennu after its launch last year, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will search this month for objects locked in orbits near Earth, a bonus science opportunity to locate possible fragments of the primordial building blocks that formed our home planet.

Astronauts will ride on Starliner capsules in ‘Boeing Blue’ spacesuits

February 1, 2017 Stephen Clark

Boeing has unveiled a new lightweight spacesuit, fitted with zippers, breathable stitching and plenty of Velcro, to protect NASA astronauts on trips to the International Space Station aboard the company’s CST-100 Starliner capsule.

Cassini offers best-ever view of Saturn’s rings

January 30, 2017 Stephen Clark

A sequence of images captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft last month are the most detailed pictures ever taken of Saturn’s famous rings, revealing complex, unexplained bands and the movements of dozens of tiny icy moonlets spinning around the planet.

Intelsat satellite in service after overcoming engine trouble

January 30, 2017 Stephen Clark

An Intelsat communications satellite launched last August entered service Sunday, about three months later than planned after a main engine problem forced engineers to position the craft in geostationary orbit using backup low-thrust rocket jets.