March 2018 – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

Photos: Soyuz booster rolls out for launch of space station crew

March 20, 2018 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz rocket rolled out to its launch pad in Kazakhstan on Monday, two days before its scheduled departure with three passengers on the way to the International Space Station.

Soyuz crew set for Wednesday launch on station flight

March 20, 2018 William Harwood

Engineers readied a Russian Soyuz rocket for launch Wednesday to ferry a veteran cosmonaut and two NASA shuttle fliers to the International Space Station for a five-month stay.

Launch preps advance in California for next Falcon 9 flight

March 20, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s fifth launch of replacement spacecraft for Iridium’s global voice and data communications network is set for March 29 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a flight that Iridium hopes will signal the start of a brisk pace of West Coast missions to complete deployment of the telecom company’s initial 75-satellite constellation this summer.

ULA touts new Vulcan rocket in competition with SpaceX

March 20, 2018 William Harwood

SpaceX and its visionary founder Elon Musk win the lion’s share of public attention in the commercial rocket arena, with dramatic, increasingly routine booster landings and spectacular stunts like the launch of Musk’s Tesla Roadster on the maiden flight of the company’s new Falcon Heavy rocket last month.

U.S. Air Force divides new launch contracts between SpaceX, ULA

March 20, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have split up to $645 million in new contracts to deploy U.S. Air Force navigation and surveillance satellites into orbit from 2019 through 2021.

Fourth satellite in new Chinese spy fleet successfully launched

March 18, 2018 Stephen Clark

China launched the fourth in a series of high-resolution Earth-imaging satellites Saturday, expanding an orbiting fleet of reconnaissance craft that likely serve the Chinese military.

NASA to decide soon whether flying drone will launch with Mars 2020 rover

March 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

Testing of a lightweight robotic helicopter designed to fly in the alien atmosphere of Mars has produced encouraging results in recent months, and NASA officials expect to decide soon whether the aerial drone will accompany the agency’s next rover to the red planet set for liftoff in 2020.

New Horizons spacecraft’s next distant destination gets a nickname

March 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

The frozen faraway miniature world targeted for a high-speed flyby by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft on Jan. 1, 2019, now has a nickname: Ultima Thule.

NASA releases summary of investigation into SpaceX’s 2015 launch failure

March 13, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA’s independent review team that investigated the destruction of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon supply ship shortly after liftoff in June 2015 concluded a design error led to the loss of more than two tons of provisions and equipment heading for the International Space Station.

Musk: Atmospheric tests of interplanetary spaceship could happen next year

March 13, 2018 Stephen Clark

A team of SpaceX engineers is building a prototype of the spaceship Elon Musk hopes will one day carry people and cargo deep into the solar system, and it could begin low-altitude testing next year, kicking off a multi-step test campaign before eventually going into space, then perhaps the moon or Mars.