May 2019 – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

Watch live video of the Falcon 9 rocket on its launch pad (members only)

May 16, 2019 Stephen Clark

Spaceflight Now members can watch a live view of Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad as a Falcon 9 rocket counts down to liftoff with 60 Starlink broadband communications satellites.

SpaceX releases new details on Starlink satellite design

May 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

The 60 satellites SpaceX is set to launch Wednesday night, beginning the build-out of a broadband network of orbiting spacecraft that could eventually number thousands, are based on a new flat-panel design, with krypton-fueled plasma thrusters, high-power antennas, and a capability to autonomously steer away from other objects in space.

Falcon 9 launch timeline for the Starlink 1 mission

May 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket

May 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 10:30 p.m. EDT Thursday (0230 GMT Friday). The 229-foot-tall launch vehicle delivered 60 satellites to orbit to begin the deployment of SpaceX’s Starlink Internet network, a fleet of spacecraft that may eventually number thousands.

Trump adds $1.6 billion to NASA budget request to kick start ‘Artemis’ moon mission

May 13, 2019 William Harwood

The Trump administration is adding an additional $1.6 billion to NASA’s $21 billion 2020 budget request to kick start plans to return American astronauts to the moon in 2024, four years earlier than previously planned, NASA announced Monday.

NASA, ULA find launch opportunity for inflatable heat shield demonstrator

May 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

A flight demonstration of an inflatable heat shield that could be used to retrieve reusable engines from United Launch Alliance’s next-generation Vulcan rocket, and for the delivery of heavier cargo to the surface of Mars, is planned for launch in late 2021 or early 2022 as a piggyback payload on an Atlas 5 rocket with a NOAA weather satellite.

Falcon 9 rocket rolled out for first dedicated Starlink launch

May 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX ground teams at Cape Canaveral transferred a Falcon 9 rocket to launch pad 40 and rotated the booster vertical Monday for a preflight hold-down firing, ahead of a liftoff scheduled for Wednesday night carrying 60 satellites into orbit for the company’s planned Starlink broadband constellation.

Virgin Galactic to move remaining SpaceShipTwo test flights to New Mexico

May 10, 2019 Stephen Clark

Virgin Galactic will conduct the remaining test flights for the company’s SpaceShipTwo suborbital rocket plane from southern New Mexico after moving staff and equipment from California over the next few months, officials announced Friday.

X-ray communications experiment delivered to space station

May 10, 2019 Stephen Clark

A novel communications experiment developed by NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory has arrived at the International Space Station to prove data can be transmitted in space using X-ray signals, a breakthrough that could have uses in deep space exploration and military technology on Earth.

Jeff Bezos unveils ‘Blue Moon’ lander

May 9, 2019 Stephen Clark

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person, discussed his vision for spaceflight and lunar exploration Thursday in Washington, revealing new details about a privately-developed lunar lander he said will help NASA achieve the Trump administration’s goal of returning astronauts to the surface of the moon by 2024.