February 2018 – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

GOES-S weather observatory hoisted atop Atlas 5 rocket

February 16, 2018 Stephen Clark

NOAA’s next geostationary weather satellite, GOES-S, was raised on top of an Atlas 5 launcher Friday at Cape Canaveral in preparation for liftoff March 1 to keep watch over the Pacific Ocean and the Western United States.

Photos: Russian cargo freighter blasts off from snow-covered launch pad

February 16, 2018 Stephen Clark

A Russian Progress supply ship launched Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, firing into orbit from a snow-covered pad to haul three tons of fuel, water and equipment to the International Space Station.

Exoplanet-hunting satellite arrives in Florida for April launch

February 16, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for final testing, fueling and attachment to a Falcon 9 launcher for liftoff in mid-April, a delay of nearly one month to allow SpaceX additional time to prepare the rocket for the mission.

Spacewalking astronauts complete robot arm work

February 16, 2018 William Harwood

Astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Japanese crewmate Norishige Kanai floated outside the International Space Station Friday, repositioned two robot arm grapple mechanisms following repair work last month and carried out a variety of “get-ahead” tasks before calling it a day.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with three satellites

February 16, 2018 Stephen Clark

Running several days late after a series of technical and weather delays, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 6:17 a.m. PST (9:17 a.m. EST; 1417 GMT) with the Spanish-owned Paz radar observation satellite and two prototype payloads for SpaceX’s planned Starlink broadband satellite network.

Photos: SpaceX’s imagery of Falcon Heavy test flight

February 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX this week released a new batch of photos showing the Feb. 6 liftoff of the company’s first Falcon Heavy rocket from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, followed by landing of the launcher’s two side boosters around eight minutes later at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Progress supply ship docks with International Space Station

February 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

Russia’s Progress MS-08 cargo carrier glided to an automated radar-guided link-up with the International Space Station on Thursday with three tons of fuel, water, supplies and experiments.

New drone ship under construction for SpaceX rocket landings

February 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX will deploy a new rocket landing platform off Florida’s Space Coast to enter a rotation with another drone ship stationed at Cape Canaveral, company founder Elon Musk said Monday.

Elon Musk’s Tesla will have a close encounter with Earth in 2091

February 14, 2018 William Harwood

Even though it doesn’t obey any earthly speed limit and has a space-suited mannequin for a driver, Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster won’t drive up his insurance rates anytime soon. Researchers say the sports car won’t have a really close encounter with Earth until 2091 and could last millions of years before getting totaled in a planetary crackup.

NASA gears up for brisk launch pace, starting with weather satellite

February 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

Engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center tasked with overseeing launches of scientific satellites and interplanetary probes will be responsible later this year for ensuring six major missions safely get into space over a span of a little more than six months, beginning with the launch of NOAA’s new GOES-S weather observatory on an Atlas 5 rocket March 1.