January 2018 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX rocket flies on 60th anniversary of first U.S. satellite launch

January 31, 2018 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher boosted a 4.7-ton military-grade communications satellite for SES and the Luxembourg government toward a perch 22,300 miles over the equator following a spectacular late afternoon liftoff Tuesday from Florida’s Space Coast, clearing the last mission off the launch company’s manifest before the long-awaited debut of the massive Falcon Heavy rocket.

Soyuz rocket fires into space with 11 satellites

January 31, 2018 Stephen Clark

A Soyuz rocket crowned by a Fregat upper stage carrying 11 Russian, German and U.S. satellites into orbit lifted off Thursday from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East, the first flight from the country’s newest spaceport since a failure in November.

Video: Replay of the launch of GovSat 1 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket

January 31, 2018 Stephen Clark

The GovSat 1 communications satellite for SES and the government of Luxembourg lifted off from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad at 4:25 p.m. EST (2125 GMT) Wednesday.

Falcon 9 launches with GovSat 1 as seen from Kennedy Space Center (members only)

January 31, 2018 Spaceflight Now

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched at 4:25 p.m. EST (2125 GMT) on 31 January from Cape Canaveral with the GovSat 1 communications satellite.

Juno’s latest imagery from Jupiter

January 30, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Juno spacecraft, now on its 11th orbit around Jupiter, continues to return jaw-dropping views of the solar systems’s biggest planet from previously-unseen up-close perspectives of its colorful clouds and raging storms.

SpaceX scrubs Falcon 9 launch to replace second stage sensor

January 30, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s launch director halted a countdown Tuesday to replace a sensor on the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket set to blast off with the GovSat 1 communications craft, the product of a joint venture between the commercial satellite operator SES and the government of Luxembourg.

Falcon 9 launch timeline with GovSat 1

January 30, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the GovSat 1 communications satellite into orbit around 32 minutes later.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with GovSat 1

January 30, 2018 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched at 4:25 p.m. EST (2125 GMT) Wednesday from Cape Canaveral with the GovSat 1 communications satellite, a military-grade craft to relay signals for Luxembourg and allied nations. SpaceX’s launch team scrubbed an attempt Tuesday to replace a transducer on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket and wait for improved weather conditions.

Photos: European Ariane 5 rocket climbs into space from French Guiana

January 29, 2018 Stephen Clark

An Ariane 5 rocket soared into orbit from French Guiana on Jan. 25 with the commercial SES 14 and Al Yah 3 communications satellite, but the launcher missed its mark and released the telecom craft into an unplanned orbit.

Luxembourg-backed telecom craft set for launch on reused Falcon 9 rocket

January 29, 2018 Stephen Clark

A communications satellite developed in a public-private partnership between Luxembourg government and SES is set for launch Tuesday aboard a previously-flown SpaceX Falcon 9 booster from Cape Canaveral, ready for a 15-year mission beaming encrypted, jam-resistant signals for security and military forces across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.