December 2019 – Page 4 – Spaceflight Now

Hubble catches best glimpse yet of interstellar interloper

December 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

A comet originating from outside our solar system has been imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope as it made its closest approach to the sun earlier this month.

NASA declares first SLS core stage complete

December 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

NASA has declared assembly complete on the core stage for the first Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket in New Orleans, signaling a long-awaited transition from manufacturing to testing as the core stage is set to move to the nearby Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for a hold-down firing next year of its four shuttle-era main engines.

SpaceX performs hold-down firing for heavyweight satellite launch Monday

December 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

A test-firing of a twice-flown Falcon 9 booster Friday at Cape Canaveral paved the way for SpaceX’s next launch, scheduled for Monday night with a heavyweight Boeing-built communications satellite to beam broadband signals to Japan and the Pacific islands.

Video: SpaceX test-fires Falcon 9 rocket at pad 40 (members only)

December 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

A hold-down test-firing of a Falcon 9 rocket Friday at Cape Canaveral marked a major step in preparations for SpaceX’s 13th mission of the year, scheduled for liftoff Monday with a commercial communications satellite.

Q&A with John Shannon, Boeing’s SLS vice president and program manager (members only)

December 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

In nearly five years on the job as Boeing’s Space Launch System program manager, John Shannon has presided over the completion of the first SLS core stage inside a cavernous factory in New Orleans.

Live view of the Falcon 9 launch pad (members only)

December 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

Spaceflight Now members can watch a live view of the Falcon 9 launch pad at Cape Canaveral as SpaceX prepares for a hold-down test-firing of the booster’s nine Merlin engines ahead of launch Dec. 16 with the JCSAT 18/Kacific 1 commercial communications satellite.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 set for launch Monday from Cape Canaveral

December 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX teams at Cape Canaveral raised a Falcon 9 rocket vertical at the Complex 40 launch pad and performed a static fire test Friday. The Falcon 9 will be used to launch a commercial geostationary communications satellite no earlier than Monday at 7:10 p.m. EST (0010 GMT Tuesday).

NASA selects site for OSIRIS-REx to collect asteroid samples

December 12, 2019 Stephen Clark

Using precise autonomous navigation algorithms, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will descend to the surface of an asteroid next year, aiming to retrieve rock specimens for return to Earth from a gravelly pit flanked by hazardous boulders, scientists said Thursday.

NASA gives go-ahead for Starliner test flight to space station

December 12, 2019 Stephen Clark

NASA officials cleared Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft for flight Thursday after a “thorough and comprehensive” review of the crew capsule’s readiness, setting the stage for final pre-launch preparations at Cape Canaveral ahead of liftoff Dec. 20 on an unpiloted demonstration mission to the International Space Station.

Rocket Lab to debut Virginia launch pad with U.S. Air Force mission next year

December 12, 2019 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab plans to launch a research and development microsatellite mission for the U.S. Air Force in the first half of 2020 on the the first flight from the company’s new launch facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, officials announced Thursday.