February 2020 – Page 5 – Spaceflight Now

Atlas 5/Solar Orbiter launch timeline

February 9, 2020 Stephen Clark

Follow the major events of the Atlas 5 rocket’s launch with the Solar Orbiter spacecraft with this mission timeline.

Live coverage: Antares rocket launch scrubbed in Virginia

February 9, 2020 Stephen Clark

Northrop Grumman’s launch team aborted an Antares rocket launch from Virginia’s Eastern Shore minutes before liftoff Sunday evening. The rocket is set to loft a Cygnus cargo freighter toward the International Space Station with nearly four tons of supplies and experiments.

Antares launch timeline on the NG-13 mission

February 9, 2020 Stephen Clark

Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket will deliver a Cygnus supply ship into orbit Saturday to begin a pursuit of the International Space Station.

Antares rocket, Cygnus supply ship readied for space station cargo flight

February 9, 2020 Stephen Clark

A commercial Cygnus resupply ship named for Robert H. Lawrence, Jr. — the first African American selected as an astronaut — is awaiting liftoff Sunday evening from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore to begin a 35-hour trip to the International Space Station.

Japan launches optical spy satellite

February 9, 2020 Stephen Clark

Japan launched an optical reconnaissance satellite from the Tanegashima Space Center Sunday aboard an H-2A rocket after a 12-day delay caused by a nitrogen leak.

Florida launch base to be renamed Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

February 8, 2020 Stephen Clark

The military-run spaceport at Cape Canaveral will soon be renamed Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to reflect the facility’s transition from the U.S. Air Force to the newly-created Space Force, military officials said Friday.

Live coverage: Atlas 5 launches from Cape Canaveral with Solar Orbiter

February 8, 2020 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad Sunday night with the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter mission, a project developed in partnership with NASA. Launch occurred right on time at the opening of a two-hour window at 11:03 p.m. EST Sunday (0403 GMT Monday).

Watch live video of the Solar Orbiter launch pad at Cape Canaveral (members only)

February 8, 2020 Spaceflight Now

Watch live video of launch pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as an Atlas 5 rocket is prepared to launch the ESA’s Solar Orbiter mission. The Atlas 5 rocket will be rolled from it’s Vertical Inegration Building (VIF) to the pad on Saturday morning.

SpaceX considers Starlink spinoff as teams ready for mid-February launch

February 7, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX says it is considering spinning off its Starlink broadband Internet project into a separate company, while teams at Cape Canaveral ready to launch around 60 more of the flat-panel data relay nodes into Earth orbit as soon as Feb. 15.

NASA, Boeing managers admit problems with Starliner software verification

February 7, 2020 William Harwood

Two software errors detected after launch of a Boeing Starliner crew ship during an unpiloted test flight last December, one of which prevented a planned docking with the International Space Station, could have led to catastrophic failures had they not been caught and corrected in time, NASA said Friday.