January 2020 – Spaceflight Now

Photos: Falcon 9 lifts off on fourth dedicated launch for Starlink network

January 31, 2020 Stephen Clark

The 80th flight of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket delivered 60 more satellites to orbit for the company’s Starlink broadband network Wednesday after launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Rocket Lab successfully launches NRO satellite

January 31, 2020 Stephen Clark

A light-class Electron launcher built and owned by Rocket Lab fired into orbit Thursday (U.S. time) from a privately-owned spaceport in New Zealand with a top secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency.

NASA uplinks final command to deactivate Spitzer telescope

January 30, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA declared the Spitzer Space Telescope’s 16-year mission complete Thursday after sending final commands for the spacecraft to enter hibernation as it drifts farther from Earth.

Live coverage: Rocket Lab conducts first Electron launch of 2020

January 30, 2020 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s first mission of 2020 lifted off from New Zealand’s North Island at 9:56 p.m. EST Thursday (0256 GMT; 3:56 p.m. New Zealand time Friday) with a secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, which owns the U.S. government’s fleet of intelligence-gathering spy satellites.

Government watchdog warns of another JWST launch delay

January 30, 2020 Stephen Clark

The James Webb Space Telescope is at risk of another launch delay beyond the mission’s current target launch date in March 2021, the Government Accountability Office said this week.

SpaceX boosts 60 more Starlink satellites into orbit after weather delays

January 29, 2020 Stephen Clark

After waiting more than a week for good weather, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday from Cape Canaveral with 60 more satellites for the company’s Starlink Internet network, continuing to build out a fleet of fleet of orbiting broadband relay stations that could eventually number in the thousands.

NASA prepares to shut down one of its ‘Great Observatories’

January 28, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA will say goodbye to the Spitzer Space Telescope this week after more than 16 years observing the most distant galaxies ever detected, planets orbiting other stars, and star-forming clouds of dust and gas.

Axiom wins NASA approval to attach commercial habitat to space station

January 28, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA has selected Axiom Space, a Houston-based startup partnering with Boeing and other aerospace contractors, to attach a commercial habitat to the International Space Station and begin constructing an orbiting complex that the company says could ultimately replace the international research outpost.

SpaceX scrubs Starlink launch due to winds aloft, will try again Wednesday

January 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX called off a scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 rocket about a half-hour before liftoff from Cape Canaveral Monday due to strong upper level winds, and officials aim to try again to send 60 Starlink Internet satellites into orbit Wednesday after bypassing a planned launch attempt Tuesday due to poor weather in the offshore booster recovery area.

Launch of Japanese spy satellite postponed by nitrogen leak

January 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

Japanese officials halted a countdown Monday at the Tanegashima Space Center when teams overseeing preparations for launch of an H-2A rocket detected a nitrogen gas leak, prompting the return of the launcher and its Japanese government payload to a nearby assembly building for repairs.