May 2020 – Page 8 – Spaceflight Now

Emirates Mars Mission arrives in Japan for launch preparations

May 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

The Arab world’s first Mars probe has arrived at its launch site in Japan after officials navigated coronavirus-related quarantine protocols and travel restrictions to ensure the spacecraft can launch on time in July.

Virgin Orbit’s first launch could happen later this month

May 4, 2020 Stephen Clark

Virgin Orbit could attempt its first orbital test launch later this month over the Pacific Ocean southwest of Los Angeles, capping a development program for an air-launched small satellite carrier that began in earnest eight years ago.

China to debut new version of powerful Long March 5 rocket this week

May 4, 2020 Stephen Clark

A prototype for China’s next-generation human-rated spacecraft — flying on a test flight without astronauts — is scheduled to ride a new version of the country’s heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket into orbit this week.

SpaceX aces last Dragon parachute test before crew launch

May 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX completed Friday the last drop test of the Dragon crew capsule’s parachutes before the first launch of astronauts on the human-rated ship May 27, while technicians at Cape Canaveral have mated the spacecraft’s crew module with its unpressurized trunk section.

Hopeful for launch next year, NASA aims to resume SLS operations within weeks

May 1, 2020 Stephen Clark

With the Space Launch System’s inaugural test flight now officially delayed to November 2021, NASA says work halted by the coronavirus pandemic will resume within weeks to prepare for the first test-firing of the SLS core stage at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

Watch live: NASA hosting pre-flight briefings today for SpaceX crew launch

May 1, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA and SpaceX officials will host a trio of news briefings Friday beginning at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) to discuss preparations for the first launch of astronauts May 27 from the Kennedy Space Center since 2011.

NASA identifies risks in SpaceX’s Starship lunar lander proposal

May 1, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s proposal to land astronauts on the moon using the company’s reusable Starship vehicle could be “game-changing” for space exploration, but comes with risks and complexity that “threaten the schedule viability” to achieve NASA’s goal of returning crews moon by the end of 2024, agency officials said.