May 2020 – Page 6 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX readies rocket for final Falcon 9 launch before crew flight

May 13, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX fired up a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Wednesday in a pre-flight test for a Starlink satellite launch Sunday, moving closer to the company’s final mission before sending two NASA astronauts into orbit for the first time May 27.

Back-to-back launches scheduled from Cape Canaveral this weekend

May 13, 2020 Stephen Clark

Working under physical distancing requirements and other precautions against the coronavirus pandemic, range teams at Cape Canaveral are preparing for launches of Atlas 5 and Falcon 9 rockets from neighboring pads this weekend.

NASA inks deal with Roscosmos to ensure continuous U.S. presence on space station

May 12, 2020 Stephen Clark

With lingering uncertainty about when new U.S. commercial vehicles can regularly carry crews to the space station, NASA said Tuesday it will pay the Russian space agency more than $90 million for a round-trip ticket to the International Space Station on a Soyuz spacecraft later this year.

Dragon solar array concerns driving duration of first crewed test flight

May 12, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be geared up for the long haul when they launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft later this month, but they won’t know exactly how long they will be in orbit until they are already aboard the International Space Station.

First two smallsats launched for Chinese data relay constellation

May 12, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Chinese Kuaizhou 1A rocket launched Tuesday with the first two spacecraft for China’s planned 80-satellite Xingyun communications and data relay constellation.

China’s massive Long March 5B’s rocket falls out of orbit over Atlantic Ocean

May 11, 2020 Stephen Clark

A large rocket stage left in space after the successful launch of China’s heavy-lift Long March 5B rocket May 5 fell into the atmosphere Monday over the Atlantic Ocean, becoming the most massive object in nearly 30 years to perform an uncontrolled re-entry from orbit.

Month: May 2020

SpaceX readies rocket for final Falcon 9 launch before crew flight

Back-to-back launches scheduled from Cape Canaveral this weekend

NASA inks deal with Roscosmos to ensure continuous U.S. presence on space station

Dragon solar array concerns driving duration of first crewed test flight

First two smallsats launched for Chinese data relay constellation

China’s massive Long March 5B’s rocket falls out of orbit over Atlantic Ocean

Cygnus departs space station, beginning extended experimental mission

Launch preparations continue for NASA’s next Mars rover

U.S. military tracking unguided re-entry of large Chinese rocket

Video: Demo-2 crew training reel