August 2021 – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

Maxar satellite images show thousands of people at Kabul airport

August 18, 2021 Stephen Clark

Maxar’s WorldView 3 commercial imaging satellite captured overhead views of the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, earlier this week as thousands of people converged on the runway and gathered near aircraft after the Taliban militants took control of the capital city.

Arianespace launches second Pléiades Neo remote sensing satellite

August 17, 2021 Stephen Clark

A European Vega rocket launched from French Guiana Monday night with Airbus’s second Pléiades Neo remote sensing satellite, two European Space Agency CubeSats to track space weather, a student-built nanosatellite from Italy, and a small maritime surveillance payload from the French company Unseenlabs.

Launch of lunar CubeSat moved from Virginia to New Zealand

August 16, 2021 Stephen Clark

The launch of a miniature trailblazer probe for NASA’s planned Gateway lunar space station has been moved from Rocket Lab’s new launch pad in Virginia to the company’s spaceport in New Zealand, officials recently announced.

Live coverage: Vega rocket launches from French Guiana with five satellites

August 16, 2021 Stephen Clark

Airbus’s Pléiades Neo 4 Earth observation satellite, three tech demo CubeSats sponsored by the European Space Agency, and a commercial nanosatellite owned by a French startup company launched at 9:47 p.m. EDT Monday (0147 GMT Tuesday) aboard a Vega rocket from French Guiana.

Photos: Antares launches on Northrop Grumman’s 16th space station cargo flight

August 16, 2021 Stephen Clark

These images show the liftoff of a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket on Aug. 10 from Wallops Island, Virginia, kicking off an unpiloted resupply mission carrying more than 8,000 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station.

Soyuz rocket rolls out to launch pad with next batch of OneWeb satellites

August 16, 2021 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz rocket rolled out to a launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome Monday, moving into position for liftoff Thursday with 34 more satellites for OneWeb’s broadband internet network.

Vega rocket set to launch next Airbus Pléiades Neo remote sensing satellite

August 15, 2021 Stephen Clark

An Airbus-owned commercial optical Earth-imaging satellite and four small CubeSat rideshare payloads are set for launch Monday night from French Guiana aboard a European Vega rocket.

Rocket Lab announces three back-to-back launches for BlackSky

August 15, 2021 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab is gearing up for three back-to-back missions beginning later this month from its New Zealand launch base, each carrying two commercial BlackSky Earth-imaging satellites.

Development of spacesuits for Artemis moonwalks lagging

August 15, 2021 William Harwood

The next-generation spacesuits needed by the first moonwalkers in NASA’s Artemis program will not be available until 2025 at the earliest and will have cost more than $1 billion to develop, according to the agency’s Office of Inspector General.

Boeing opts to haul Starliner back to hangar, delays flight indefinitely

August 13, 2021 William Harwood

Around-the-clock work to fix valve problems that derailed an Aug. 3 attempt to launch Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule on an unpiloted test flight was called off Friday, delaying another try until after NASA launches a higher-priority asteroid probe in mid-October.