July 2020 – Page 4 – Spaceflight Now

United Arab Emirates successfully sends its first mission toward Mars

July 19, 2020 Stephen Clark

Riding a Japanese rocket, the Arab world’s first interplanetary probe departed planet Earth on Sunday to begin a seven-month journey to Mars on a dual mission of scientific exploration and proving the mettle of the UAE’s growing space program.

H-2A launch timeline with the Emirates Mars Mission

July 19, 2020 Stephen Clark

It will take approximately one hour for a Japanese H-2A rocket to propel the Hope Mars orbiter on a trajectory to escape Earth’s gravitational bond, kicking off a seven-month journey to the Red Planet.

SpaceX going for rocket reuse record with South Korean satellite launch

July 19, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX aims to re-launch the Falcon 9 booster Monday that catapulted astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken toward the International Space Station in May, this time carrying a South Korean military communications satellite while pursuing a record for the quickest turnaround time between flights of an orbital-class rocket stage.

Live coverage: Emirates Mars Mission launches from Japan

July 19, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Japanese H-2A rocket launched at 5:58 p.m. EDT (2158 GMT) Sunday from the Tanegashima Space Center with the Emirates Mars Mission’s Hope orbiter, the UAE’s first probe to Mars.

Photos: H-2A rocket reaches launch pad with UAE’s Hope Mars probe

July 19, 2020 Stephen Clark

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries transferred an H-2A rocket to its launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on Sunday, ready to commence a final countdown before liftoff with the Hope Mars mission for the United Arab Emirates.

NASA confirms plans for Crew Dragon splashdown Aug. 2, weather permitting

July 17, 2020 Stephen Clark

Assuming good weather and a smooth final few weeks on the International Space Station, astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are scheduled to undock from the orbiting research outpost Aug. 1 and return to Earth the next day to wrap up a 64-day test flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship.

Photos: Minotaur rocket vaults into orbit from Virginia

July 17, 2020 Stephen Clark

Riding a half-million pounds of thrust, a Minotaur 4 rocket fired off a launch pad in Virginia, surpassed the speed of sound in less than 20 seconds, and vaulted into orbit Wednesday with four classified payloads for the National Reconnaissance Office.

NASA announces seven-month launch delay for JWST

July 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA officials said Thursday the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope will be delayed seven months to Oct. 31, 2021, a schedule slip that takes into account work slowdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the amount of testing required on the observatory before its shipment to French Guiana for liftoff on a European Ariane 5 rocket.

Asteroid samples aboard Japanese probe on track for return to Earth in December

July 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

A capsule carrying extraterrestrial specimens collected by Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft is scheduled for landing in South Australia on Dec. 6 to wrap up a six-year round-trip mission to an asteroid, officials announced this week.

First images from Solar Orbiter mission bring sun into sharper focus

July 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

The first images from the European-built Solar Orbiter mission are the closest ever taken of the sun, revealing previously unseen mini-flares nicknamed “campfires” that may offer hints about what makes the solar corona, or outer atmosphere, hotter than the sun’s surface.