May 2020 – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

Live coverage: Dragon delivers two new crew members to space station

May 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

A day after launching from the Kennedy Space Center, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken docked with the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft at 10:16 a.m. EDT (1416 GMT) Sunday to complete a 19-hour transit on the new commercial crew capsule.

Photos: Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon on eve of launch

May 26, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft were lowered horizontal on pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center the day before launch, allowing teams to address an issue with a chilled water loop near the top of the strongback structure.

SpaceX crew launch comes with new weather constraints for downrange aborts

May 26, 2020 Stephen Clark

Mission managers will be closely monitoring the weather for the first launch of astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, not just around the Kennedy Space Center, but along a corridor stretching thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean in case the crew capsule has to escape from its Falcon 9 rocket during the climb into orbit.

Virgin Orbit’s air-launched rocket fails on first test flight

May 25, 2020 Stephen Clark

Making its first flight, a privately-funded air-launched rocket developed and built by Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit failed to reach space Monday after release from the company’s modified 747 carrier airplane over the Pacific Ocean.

Crew Dragon astronauts, both married to veteran space fliers, share unique bond

May 25, 2020 William Harwood

It’s one thing to watch a spouse blast off on a rocketship, especially when the spacecraft is making its first flight with people on board. But it’s altogether another matter when the anxious spouse is an astronaut as well.

HTV supply ship successfully berthed at space station

May 25, 2020 Stephen Clark

The last of Japan’s current series of HTV cargo freighters arrived at the International Space Station Monday with a fresh set of lithium-ion batteries, ready for installation on the research lab’s solar power truss after the scheduled docking of a two-man crew on a SpaceX Dragon spaceship later this week.

Virgin Orbit eager for data from first flight of air-launched rocket

May 24, 2020 Stephen Clark

Virgin Orbit is setting modest expectations ahead of the company’s first attempt to reach orbit with a liquid-fueled air-launched rocket, emphasizing a hunger for flight data on the test launch, which could occur as soon as Monday off the coast of Southern California.

Month: May 2020