March 2021 – Spaceflight Now

NASA blames recent Hubble woes on aging hardware

March 31, 2021 Stephen Clark

Hardware problems that cropped up earlier this month on the Hubble Space Telescope, now approaching the 31st anniversary of its launch, are the latest signs the observatory is showing its age.

China launches Gaofen Earth observation satellite

March 30, 2021 Stephen Clark

An Earth observation satellite China says will assist in land surveys, urban planning, and agriculture monitoring successfully launched Tuesday on a Chinese Long March 4C rocket.

Perseverance rover begins steps to deploy Mars helicopter

March 30, 2021 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter is being lowered from the belly of the Perseverance rover this week as ground teams run through a choreographed long-distance command sequence to safely release the $80 million rotorcraft onto the surface of Mars.

Final two passengers named for first all-civilian mission to orbit Earth

March 30, 2021 William Harwood

The billionaire financing the SpaceX flight that will carry the first non-professional “everyday people” into orbit in September, announced the final two members of his four-person crew Tuesday, adding an artist-educator and an aerospace worker selected in a charity-themed competition.

Biden administration renews mandate for National Space Council

March 30, 2021 Stephen Clark

President Biden will renew the National Space Council, a space policy group revived by the Trump White House after 25 years of inactivity, to assist in “generating national space policies, strategies, and synchronizing America’s space activities,” an administration spokesman said Monday.

SpaceX’s latest high-altitude Starship test flight ends in another explosion

March 30, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight apparently ended with another explosion Tuesday in South Texas, but dense fog obscured clear views of the launch and failed landing. The Federal Aviation Administration said late Tuesday it is working with SpaceX to determine if light debris reported in a nearby town came from the Starship test rocket.

Northrop Grumman to supply solid rocket motors for first Mars Ascent Vehicle

March 29, 2021 Stephen Clark

NASA awarded Northrop Grumman a contract worth as much as $84.5 million earlier this month to supply rocket motors for a first-of-its-kind launch vehicle to fire a capsule of rock samples off of Mars on a journey back to Earth.

Remote sensing companies share satellite views of ship stuck in Suez Canal

March 29, 2021 Stephen Clark

Satellite remote sensing companies showcased their capabilities in recent days with regularly-updated overhead views of a nearly quarter-mile-long container ship blocking the Suez Canal in Egypt before salvage crews freed the vessel Monday.

Delta 2 rocket exhibit opens at Kennedy Space Center

March 28, 2021 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance’s final Delta 2 rocket is now on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, a monument to an industry workhorse that helped build the GPS navigation satellite fleet and enabled a new era of Mars exploration.

SpaceX’s next Starship test flight delayed to Tuesday

March 26, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX scrubbed the launch of its next Starship test rocket Friday afternoon, and the the next opportunity for the atmospheric test flight is now expected Tuesday. SpaceX plans to launch and land the rocket at company’s South Texas development complex after losing three previous prototypes in explosions.