November 2018 – Page 6 – Spaceflight Now

Photos: Europe’s MetOp-C weather satellite readied for liftoff

November 6, 2018 Stephen Clark

A new European weather satellite is ready for launch Tuesday night aboard a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana, and these photos illustrate the final weeks of the spacecraft’s launch campaign.

Parker Solar Probe sets records during first encounter with the sun

November 6, 2018 Stephen Clark

Less than three months after its fiery departure from Cape Canaveral, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe flew within 15 million miles (24 million kilometers) of the sun Monday for the $1.5 billion mission’s first close-up solar encounter.

Glonass navigation satellite in orbit after Soyuz launch

November 5, 2018 Stephen Clark

A new satellite joined Russia’s Glonass navigation fleet Saturday with a successful launch on top of a Soyuz rocket into an orbit nearly 12,000 miles above Earth.

Soyuz rocket rolls out for launch of European weather satellite

November 5, 2018 Stephen Clark

A Russian-built Soyuz booster arrived at its tropical launch pad in South America on Friday and was joined with a European weather satellite for launch Tuesday night.

Pegasus launch set for no earlier than Wednesday, but data review continues

November 2, 2018 Stephen Clark

The launch of a NASA research satellite built to probe conditions along the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space has been tentatively rescheduled for no earlier than Wednesday, pending the conclusion of a review of unexpected data signatures discovered on the first stage of the mission’s air-launched Pegasus XL rocket.

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft runs out of fuel in the asteroid belt

November 2, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft ran out of fuel Wednesday and stopped transmitting to Earth, ending an 11-year mission that explored the two largest objects in the asteroid belt and set several records in the annals of space history.

China maintains launch pace with another Beidou mission

November 1, 2018 Stephen Clark

China chalked up another launch Thursday with the on-target delivery of a Beidou navigation satellite destined for an operating post in geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator.

Q&A with Marc Rayman, chief engineer on NASA’s Dawn mission (members only)

November 1, 2018 Stephen Clark

Marc Rayman is chief engineer on NASA’s Dawn mission, which has run out of fuel after a 11-year interplanetary journey that explored Vesta and Ceres, the two largest objects in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Dramatic on-board video shows moment of Soyuz booster failure

November 1, 2018 Stephen Clark

New video released by the Russian space agency Thursday shows the moment a Soyuz rocket ran into trouble around two minutes after liftoff with a two-man crew Oct. 11, when one of the vehicle’s four first stage boosters crashed into the Soyuz core stage.

Departing crew snaps spectacular photo survey of space station’s exterior

November 1, 2018 Stephen Clark

A three-man crew that departed the International Space Station on Oct. 4 flew their Soyuz spaceship into position to take spectacular photos of the orbiting research complex as officials prepare to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first element’s launch.