May 2018 – Page 4 – Spaceflight Now

April 19, 2025

Breaking News

[ April 16, 2025 ] Northrop Grumman launches first Minotaur 4 rocket from Vandenberg in 14 years Minotaur 4
[ April 13, 2025 ] SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket booster on record-setting 27th time on midnight Starlink flight Falcon 9
[ April 12, 2025 ] SpaceX launches Starshield satellites for the NRO on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Falcon 9
[ April 10, 2025 ] SpaceX launches 400th flight-proven Falcon booster with Saturday Starlink mission Falcon 9
[ April 9, 2025 ] Poor weather forces a scrub of the Kuiper 1 launch on a ULA Atlas 5 Atlas 5

Astronauts reposition space station cooling pumps on successful spacewalk

May 16, 2018 William Harwood

Two astronauts worked outside the International Space Station Wednesday to reposition two spare solar array ammonia coolant pump assemblies, putting a failed unit, dubbed “Leaky,” into long-term storage and attaching another, known as “Frosty,” to an appendage of the lab’s robot arm.

Water plumes on Europa detected by Galileo spacecraft

May 14, 2018 William Harwood

A review of data captured by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft as it orbited Jupiter in the 1990s indicates it likely flew through a plume of water vapor spewing from cracks in the surface of the moon Europa, providing independent evidence water is being released from a vast sub-surface ocean beneath its frozen crust, scientists said Monday.

Helicopter to accompany NASA’s next Mars rover to Red Planet

May 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

A flying drone fitted with counter-rotating blades, on-board autonomy, and a lightweight carbon-fiber fuselage will ride to the Red Planet with NASA’s Mars 2020 mission, officials announced Friday.

Q&A with Mimi Aung, Mars Helicopter project manager at JPL (members only)

May 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

Mimi Aung leads a cadre of engineers developing the Mars Helicopter, an aerial drone set to fly to the Red Planet with the Mars 2020 rover.

SpaceX debuts new model of the Falcon 9 rocket designed for astronauts

May 11, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX debuted a more reusable, higher-thrust model of the Falcon 9 rocket Friday, hauling Bangladesh’s first communications satellite into orbit from Florida’s Space Coast.

Watch a replay of the first Falcon 9 Block 5 launch

May 11, 2018 Spaceflight Now

The first upgraded Falcon 9 rocket, known as the ‘Block 5’, takes flight from launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on 11 May 2018.

Rocketcam replay of InSight’s launch to Mars

May 11, 2018 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance has released a replay of the May 5 liftoff of NASA’s InSight mission to Mars aboard an Atlas 5 rocket, as viewed by aft- and forward-facing cameras on the two-stage launch vehicle.

Falcon 9 launch timeline with Bangabandhu 1

May 11, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Friday, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite into orbit around 33 minutes later.

Falcon 9 goes upright after sunrise in time-lapse video

May 11, 2018 Spaceflight Now

The first Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket goes upright at launch pad 39A soon after sunrise on 10 May 2018. The rocket is due to launch the Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite for the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.

Photos: Falcon 9 Block 5 poised for launch at Kennedy Space Center

May 10, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s first upgraded Falcon 9 “Block 5” rocket was raised vertical at launch pad 39A early Thursday in preparation for liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center, debuting enhancements aimed at making the booster more reusable and more reliable.

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