October 2021 – Page 6 – Spaceflight Now

Live coverage: Atlas 5 rocket rolls out to launch pad with NASA’s Lucy mission

October 14, 2021 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance rolled out its next Atlas 5 rocket Thursday to a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, moving the launcher into position for blastoff Saturday at 5:34 a.m. EDT (0934 GMT) with NASA’s Lucy mission, a robotic spacecraft to explore the Trojan asteroids in the outer solar system.

Live coverage: Soyuz launches with 36 more OneWeb satellites

October 14, 2021 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz rocket loaded with 36 OneWeb internet satellites launched Thursday from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East. Liftoff occurred at 5:40 a.m. EDT (0940 GMT), beginning a four-hour mission to deploy the 36 spacecraft into polar orbit.

First-look weather forecast favorable for launch of Lucy asteroid mission Saturday

October 13, 2021 Stephen Clark

NASA and United Launch Alliance officials met Wednesday and cleared an Atlas 5 rocket for launch from Cape Canaveral before dawn Saturday with the Lucy asteroid mission, a robotic spacecraft to visit unexplored asteroids in the outer solar system.

Blue Origin sends William Shatner to the final frontier

October 13, 2021 William Harwood

William Shatner, the 90-year-old veteran of countless imaginary space voyages playing Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, blasted off for real Wednesday, becoming the oldest person to reach the final frontier in a PR bonanza for Jeff Bezos and his rocket company Blue Origin.

Astronauts in final training for flight on brand new SpaceX crew capsule

October 13, 2021 Stephen Clark

The four astronauts set to blast off Oct. 30 to the International Space Station visited Cape Canaveral over the weekend for a test run inside SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft, one of the last training events before they return to Florida on launch week.

Live coverage: Shatner, co-passengers ride Blue Origin rocket to space

October 13, 2021 Stephen Clark

Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket launched from West Texas at 10:49 a.m. EDT (9:49 a.m. CDT; 1449 GMT), carrying actor William Shatner, Planet co-founder Chris Boshuizen, microbiologist Glen de Vries, and Blue Origin vice president Audrey Powers on a 10-minute suborbital flight to space.

Webb completes sea voyage to launch base in French Guiana

October 12, 2021 Stephen Clark

The James Webb Space Telescope, a successor to Hubble, arrived at the European Space Agency’s launch base Tuesday in Kourou, French Guiana, for final checkouts and fueling ahead of blastoff in December on top of an Ariane 5 rocket.

Eyes in space monitor La Palma volcano

October 12, 2021 Stephen Clark

Satellites and astronauts orbiting Earth have been tracking the eruption of a volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma for the last three weeks, revealing a red-hot river of lava pouring out of the ground and flowing into the Atlantic Ocean.

‘Captain Kirk’ heading to space on Blue Origin’s second human launch

October 12, 2021 William Harwood

Fifty-five years after his debut as Captain Kirk in the cult-classic TV series Star Trek, William Shatner, now 90, is finally launching to the final frontier for real Wednesday, becoming the oldest person to fly in space courtesy of Jeff Bezos and his rocket company Blue Origin.

Adapter structure with 10 CubeSats installed on top of Artemis moon rocket

October 12, 2021 Stephen Clark

Workers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center have lifted the Orion Stage Adapter on top of the Space Launch System moon rocket, adding the structure housing 10 CubeSat rideshare payloads heading into deep space on the Artemis 1 mission. But three of the CubeSat missions missed their opportunity to fly on the first SLS mission.