January 2018 – Page 6 – Spaceflight Now

Japanese radar satellite launched aboard third Epsilon booster

January 17, 2018 Stephen Clark

Japan’s Epsilon rocket delivered a civilian-operated radar imaging satellite to orbit Wednesday on a mission to demonstrate the performance of a new commercial spacecraft design and collect all-weather imagery for use in emergencies, mapping and global surveillance.

Watch as an Atlas 5 rocket is prepared for liftoff (members only)

January 17, 2018 Stephen Clark

Watch a live view of Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad, where a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket awaits liftoff with the U.S. Air Force’s SBIRS GEO Flight 4 missile-warning satellite.

Live coverage: Atlas 5 launches from Cape Canaveral with missile warning satellite

January 17, 2018 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force’s fourth new-generation SBIRS missile warning satellite is headed for geosynchronous orbit after lifting off from Cape Canaveral at 7:48 p.m. EST Friday (0048 GMT Saturday), after a one-day delay caused by a troublesome fill-and-drain valve.

Electron test launch from New Zealand could happen this weekend

January 16, 2018 Stephen Clark

The second test flight of Rocket Lab’s privately-developed Electron satellite booster could take off from New Zealand as soon as Friday night, U.S. time, after technical problems and high winds kept the rocket grounded during a series of launch attempts in December.

Photos: Delta 4 blasts off from Vandenberg’s historic SLC-6 launch pad

January 16, 2018 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Delta 4 rocket lifted off Friday from the SLC-6 launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, powering into orbit from a historic seaside complex originally developed for crewed missions.

James Webb Space Telescope completes critical end-to-end test

January 15, 2018 William Harwood

NASA’s $8.8 billion James Webb Space Telescope has completed critical end-to-end testing in a giant vacuum chamber at the Johnson Space Center, proving the telescope will work properly in the deep cold of space, bring starlight to a sharp focus and precisely track its astronomical targets when launched in 2019.

Sharp-eyed surveillance satellite launched by China

January 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

The third in a new series of Chinese high-resolution mapping satellites lifted off Saturday aboard a Long March 2D rocket, joining two other craft launched into similar orbits in December.

Video: Dragon cargo craft released from International Space Station

January 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

Ground controllers sent commands Saturday for the International Space Station’s Canadian-built robotic arm to release a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule, ending the ship’s nearly four-week stay at the orbiting research complex.

Commercial cargo craft splashes down in Pacific Ocean after station resupply run

January 13, 2018 Stephen Clark

A commercial cargo capsule owned by SpaceX concluded a month-long resupply trip to the International Space Station on Saturday, wrapping up the 13th round-trip flight to the station by a Dragon spacecraft with an on-target splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California.

Chinese navigation network expanded with pair of new Beidou satellites

January 13, 2018 Stephen Clark

Two satellites destined to join China’s Beidou network successfully launched Thursday aboard a Long March 3B rocket, the first two of up to 18 new Chinese navigation craft scheduled for deployment this year.