January 2018 – Page 4 – Spaceflight Now

Build-up of Ariane 5 rocket complete for launch Thursday

January 23, 2018 Stephen Clark

The first Ariane 5 rocket scheduled for launch in 2018 has been topped off with two communications satellites for SES and Yahsat, moving the European booster closer to liftoff Thursday from a tropical launch pad in French Guiana with payloads to serve commercial and scientific missions.

Spacewalkers complete repairs to station robotic arm

January 23, 2018 William Harwood

Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station early Tuesday and replaced one of the grapple fixtures on the end of the lab’s robot arm, the first of two excursions over the next week to complete a complex overhaul that began with a pair of spacewalks last October.

Photos: Atlas 5 takes off with SBIRS GEO Flight 4

January 22, 2018 Stephen Clark

Revisit Friday night’s blastoff of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral with SBIRS GEO Flight 4, the fourth in an upgraded line of U.S. Air Force missile detection and warning satellites.

Testbed for Canadian data relay network successfully launched from China

January 22, 2018 Stephen Clark

A nanosatellite built in Scotland for Kepler Communications, a Toronto company planning a 140-satellite global data relay network, rode to orbit Friday with five Chinese satellites launched aboard a solid-fueled Long March 11 booster from the Gobi Desert.

End to government shutdown should limit impact on space operations

January 22, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA and the U.S. Air Force are expected to return to normal operations Tuesday after lawmakers passed a budget bill Monday evening, ending a government funding lapse that threatened to cut off live television coverage of an International Space Station spacewalk and interrupt SpaceX launch operations in Florida and California.

Video: Falcon Heavy undergoes fueling test at pad 39A

January 21, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy rocket was loaded with propellants Saturday at Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A, as engineers make progress preparing for a hold-down engine firing, and eventually liftoff of the huge commercial launcher.

Rocket Lab delivers nanosatellites to orbit on first successful test launch

January 21, 2018 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s privately-developed Electron launcher soared into orbit from New Zealand on Saturday, U.S. time, a success that puts the company’s founder said will hasten dedicated, frequent and affordable rides to space for small satellites.

Video: Rocket Lab achieves orbit on historic launch from New Zealand

January 21, 2018 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket took off from a picturesque commercial launch base in New Zealand on Saturday, U.S. time, on a test flight that delivered three CubeSats into orbit on the company’s first successful satellite deployment.

Video: ULA highlights reel from Friday night’s Atlas 5 launch

January 20, 2018 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance has packed two days of rollout, countdown and launch activities into a two-minute video highlighting Friday night’s blastoff of an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral with the U.S. Air Force’s SBIRS GEO Flight 4 missile-warning satellite.

Rocket Lab test launch halted by ship traffic, deteriorating weather

January 20, 2018 Stephen Clark

An attempt to place three small satellites in orbit on an experimental test flight was halted Friday after two ships strayed into a keep-out zone offshore Rocket Lab’s privately-owned launch base in New Zealand, delaying the Electron booster’s second demonstration mission at least 24 hours.