July 2019 – Spaceflight Now

Mars 2020 rover on track for launch next July

July 31, 2019 Stephen Clark

The launch of NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is less than a year away, and the steady pace of work inside the craft’s pristine assembly hall in California is keeping the mission on schedule for liftoff from Cape Canaveral next July, despite growing costs, according to mission managers.

Watch a live view of the Falcon 9 launch pad in Florida (members only)

July 31, 2019 Stephen Clark

Spaceflight Now members can watch a live view of Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad, where SpaceX is preparing a Falcon 9 rocket for a hold-down test-firing as soon as Saturday.

Live coverage: SpaceX conducts second static fire test ahead of Amos 17 launch

July 31, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket for the second time Saturday after replacing a valve following an earlier static fire test Wednesday. The move has postponed the Falcon 9 rocket’s launch with the Amos 17 commercial communications satellite to no earlier than Tuesday.

Progress cargo freighter lifts off, reaches space station hours later

July 31, 2019 Stephen Clark

A Russian Progress cargo freighter lifted off Wednesday from Kazakhstan on top of a Soyuz-2.1a booster and completed a record-breaking 3-hour, 19-minute pursuit of the International Space Station with an automated docking to deliver 2.7 tons of food, fuel, water and other supplies.

Investigators conclude external forces killed an Intelsat satellite in April

July 30, 2019 Stephen Clark

Investigators probing the sudden failure of the Boeing-built Intelsat 29e geostationary relay station in April have concluded an electrostatic discharge, aggravated by a harness flaw on the spacecraft, or a micrometeoroid strike prematurely ended the satellite’s mission, resulting in a $382 million hit to Intelsat’s quarterly financial report.

NASA terminates lunar lander contract with OrbitBeyond

July 30, 2019 Stephen Clark

NASA has terminated a $97 million contract with OrbitBeyond, a New Jersey-based company with plans to build robotic moon landers in Florida, just two months after announcing an agreement to send science instruments to the lunar surface as soon as next year.

Russia launches military communications satellite

July 30, 2019 Stephen Clark

A Russian military satellite rocketed into orbit Tuesday on top of a Soyuz launcher from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome to provide communications coverage over Russia’s polar regions.

Photos: SpaceX completes resupply run to International Space Station

July 29, 2019 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Dragon capsule packed with more than 5,000 pounds of hardware, provisions and experiments launched July 25 from Cape Canaveral and arrived at the International Space Station two days later.

Soyuz booster rolls out to launch pad with space station refueling freighter

July 29, 2019 Stephen Clark

Packed with nearly 3 tons of rocket fuel, water, oxygen and crew provisions, the Russian Progress MS-12 supply ship and its Soyuz booster arrived at a launch pad Sunday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, moving a step closer to liftoff Wednesday on a fast-track three-hour flight to the International Space Station.

JAXA to launch eighth HTV space station cargo mission in September

July 29, 2019 Stephen Clark

Japan’s eighth resupply mission to the International Space Station is set for liftoff Sept. 10 with another batch of upgraded batteries, crew provisions and experiments for the orbiting research lab, the country’s space agency announced Monday.