May 2021 – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

Live coverage: SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites

May 26, 2021 Stephen Clark

Another batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites took off from Cape Canaveral at 2:59 p.m. EDT (1859 GMT) Wednesday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The launcher flew with a recycled first stage booster and payload shroud, with one half of the nose cone flown on four previous missions. The booster successfully landed again on a SpaceX drone ship.

Chinese rover drives onto surface of Mars

May 25, 2021 Stephen Clark

The Chinese solar-powered Zhurong rover has driven onto the surface of Mars, making China the second nation to operate a mobile robot on another planet.

Watch new ‘rocketcam’ footage from last week’s Atlas 5 launch

May 25, 2021 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance has released new video from cameras mounted aboard an Atlas 5 rocket that lifted off May 18 from Cape Canaveral to haul a U.S. military missile-detection satellite into orbit.

Whitson to command planned commercial flight to space station

May 25, 2021 William Harwood

Peggy Whitson, America’s most experienced astronaut, and veteran GT3-class race car driver John Shoffner, a long-time pilot, will anchor a four-person crew launching to the International Space Station aboard Axiom Space’s second commercial trip to orbit, the company announced Tuesday.

Soyuz in position for liftoff Thursday with 36 OneWeb internet satellites

May 25, 2021 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz booster and Fregat upper stage rode a specialized rail car to a launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome Monday, moving into position for liftoff Thursday with the next 36 satellites for OneWeb’s growing global internet network.

SpaceX test-fires rocket for sixth Falcon 9 launch in five weeks

May 24, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX fired up a Falcon 9 rocket Monday on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, running the launcher through a pre-flight checkout and clearing a hurdle before liftoff later this week with the next batch of Starlink internet satellites.

NASA assigns fourth astronaut to SpaceX’s next space station crew launch

May 24, 2021 Stephen Clark

NASA has assigned astronaut Kayla Barron to join three crewmates on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft set to launch to the International Space Station in October, rounding out a four-person team after the space agency was unable to secure an agreement to add a Russian cosmonaut to the mission.

Falcon Heavy’s first national security launch slips to October

May 23, 2021 Stephen Clark

The next launch of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket has been delayed from July to October to await the readiness of its U.S. military payload, and the following Falcon Heavy flight has been rescheduled from late this year to some time in 2022, military officials said.

Virgin Galactic flies to edge of space for first time from New Mexico

May 23, 2021 Stephen Clark

Two pilots flew Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocketplane to the edge of space Saturday over New Mexico on the first human spaceflight from the company’s new home base at Spaceport America.

United Launch Alliance nears first fueling test on Vulcan rocket

May 21, 2021 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance could load cryogenic methane and liquid oxygen propellants into a Vulcan rocket test article at Cape Canaveral for the first time in the coming weeks, timing key tests for the next-generation rocket in between flights of Atlas 5 rockets that will share the same launch complex for the next few years.