September 2019 – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

LRO’s view of Chandrayaan 2 landing site obscured by shadows

September 24, 2019 Stephen Clark

An overflight last week of the Chandrayaan 2 landing site on the moon by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has turned up no clear sign of the lost Indian lander. Another flyover with better lighting conditions is scheduled next month.

Fresh batteries, experiments on the way to the International Space Station

September 24, 2019 Stephen Clark

A Japanese H-2B rocket fired into orbit Tuesday from the Tanegashima Space Center with an automated cargo freighter loaded with more than 4.1 tons of batteries, experiments, spacewalk equipment, water and provisions for the International Space Station.

Live coverage: Japanese cargo freighter launches from Tanegashima

September 24, 2019 Stephen Clark

Two weeks after a launch pad fire forced a delay, a Japanese H-2B rocket lifted off Tuesday with an HTV cargo freighter to deliver upgraded batteries, experiments and provisions to the International Space Station. Liftoff from the Tanegashima Space Center occurred at 1605 GMT (12:05 p.m. EDT) Tuesday.

NASA taps Lockheed Martin to build six more Orion crew capsules

September 23, 2019 Stephen Clark

NASA announced Monday it will order at least six reusable Orion crew capsules from Lockheed Martin for $4.6 billion to fly astronauts to the vicinity of the moon in the 2020s, and the agency said it plans to purchase hardware for up to 12 Orion vehicles by 2030.

Soyuz rocket in position for launch of next station crew

September 23, 2019 Stephen Clark

The Russian Soyuz rocket that will carry a three-person crew to the International Space Station Wednesday has arrived on its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Two more satellites launched into China’s Beidou navigation fleet

September 23, 2019 Stephen Clark

China added two more satellites to the country’s Beidou navigation fleet — an analog to the U.S. military’s GPS network — with a successful Long March 3B rocket launch Sunday.

Launch of South Korean lunar orbiter delayed to 2022

September 20, 2019 Stephen Clark

The launch of South Korea’s first moon orbiter has been delayed from December 2020 until July 2022 after the mission encountered technical issues during development, officials recently announced.

Japanese cargo launch reset for Tuesday after fire

September 20, 2019 Stephen Clark

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the prime contractor for Japan’s H-2B rocket, said Friday that engineers concluded a fire on the launch pad during a countdown earlier this month was most likely sparked by static electricity and stimulated by oxygen. The H-2B rocket launch has been rescheduled for Tuesday to start a resupply mission to the International Space Station.

NASA still looking for new human spaceflight chief

September 19, 2019 Stephen Clark

NASA hopes to have a new leader for the agency’s human spaceflight directorate by the end of the year to replace Bill Gerstenmaier, who held the post for nearly 14 years before his reassignment in July amid the Trump administration’s push to land humans on the moon by 2024, a NASA official said Wednesday.

Five Chinese smallsats launched by Long March 11 rocket

September 19, 2019 Stephen Clark

Five commercial Earth-imaging satellites rode a Long March 11 rocket into orbit Thursday from the Jiuquan space base in northwestern China.