October 2019 – Spaceflight Now

Boeing, SpaceX readying for crew capsule abort tests

October 31, 2019 Stephen Clark

Boeing and SpaceX are readying for launch abort tests in the coming weeks to validate the crew escape systems for the new human-rated Starliner and Crew Dragon spaceships, now scheduled to begin ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station in the first half of next year.

China on pace to resume Long March 5 launches by end of year

October 31, 2019 Stephen Clark

Components for China’s third Long March 5 rocket arrived at the country’s southern launch base this week as teams prepare for the first flight of the heavy-lift launcher since a 2017 mission ended in failure.

NASA’s VIPER rover in development for scouting mission to moon’s south pole

October 30, 2019 Stephen Clark

Building on a mission canceled last year, NASA is developing a mobile robot named VIPER for launch in 2022 to scout for water ice at the moon’s south pole, the same region where the agency aims to land astronauts by 2024.

X-37B’s return to Cape Canaveral in images

October 29, 2019 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force has released an infrared video and additional images from Sunday’s landing of the military’s X-37B spaceplane in Florida after a top secret mission that lasted more than two years.

Upgraded Antares rocket rolled out for launch on space station resupply mission

October 29, 2019 Stephen Clark

A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket rolled out to its launch pad on Virginia’s Eastern Shore early Tuesday, setting the stage for liftoff Saturday on a resupply flight to the International Space Station that will debut an upgraded launcher and Cygnus cargo vehicle capable of hauling heavier payloads into orbit.

Ground teams studying setback with InSight’s subsurface heat probe

October 29, 2019 Stephen Clark

The self-hammering mole on NASA’s InSight lander partially backed out of the ground over the weekend, the latest setback for a German-built science instrument designed to measure heat flowing from the interior of Mars.

Starliner coverage: Live from launch pad 41 (members only)

October 29, 2019 Spaceflight Now

Watch live views of launch complex 41 at Cape Canaveral as United Launch Alliance and Boeing get ready for an uncrewed test flight of the Starliner commercial space capsule.

Aerojet Rocketdyne, Firefly to collaborate on propulsion

October 28, 2019 Stephen Clark

Firefly Aerospace and Aerojet Rocketdyne have announced a strategic partnership to collaborate on rocket propulsion, an agreement that could lead to Firefly’s use of Aerojet’s AR1 engine in a new medium-lift launcher.

U.S. military’s X-37B spaceplane lands in Florida

October 27, 2019 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force’s reusable Boeing-built X-37B spaceplane returned to Earth early Sunday with a touchdown at NASA’s Shuttle Landing Facility runway at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a few miles away from where it launched 780 days ago atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Bridenstine says NASA not holding up commercial crew schedule

October 25, 2019 Stephen Clark

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said this week the space agency is not unduly delaying the debut of new SpaceX and Boeing commercial crew capsules as engineers gear up for a challenging rapid-fire sequence of test flights in the next few months, all against the backdrop of in-depth safety reviews before clearing the privately-owned ships to carry astronauts.