2021 – Page 57 – Spaceflight Now

Watch a live view of the Falcon 9 on pad 40 (members only)

March 24, 2021 Stephen Clark

Spaceflight Now members can watch a live view of the Falcon 9 rocket on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as it awaits launch with 60 more Starlink satellites.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites

March 23, 2021 Stephen Clark

For the fourth time this month, SpaceX has launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Space Coast with another 60 Starlink internet satellites. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred at 4:28 a.m. EDT (0828 GMT) Wednesday. The Falcon 9’s booster landed on an offshore drone ship.

Starlink and OneWeb satellites ready for launch on opposite sides of the world

March 23, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX and OneWeb — space industry rivals and owners of two of the largest fleets of commercial satellites — are set to add more spacecraft to their internet networks Wednesday with launches from Cape Canaveral and Russia.

Testbed for NASA moon mission rides to orbit with six other satellites

March 23, 2021 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab launched seven satellites Monday from New Zealand on a rideshare mission serving the U.S. and Australian militaries and space services startups. A spacecraft developed in-house by Rocket Lab was also aboard to prove out technologies for a NASA moon mission launching later this year.

Privately-funded mission takes off to begin space debris cleanup trials

March 22, 2021 Stephen Clark

A commercial mission developed by the Japanese company Astroscale rocketed into space on a Russian Soyuz launcher Monday with 37 other payloads, ready to kick off an orbital “dance” with two small spacecraft demonstrating how satellite sweepers might one day drag junk out of orbit.

Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches small satellites from New Zealand

March 22, 2021 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s second mission of 2021 lifted off at 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT) Monday from New Zealand carrying six small satellites for customers in Australia and the United States, along with a test platform for a NASA small satellite mission to the moon launching later this year.

Live coverage: Soyuz launches with 38 satellites

March 19, 2021 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 2:07 a.m. EDT (0607 GMT) Monday with 38 small and medium-size satellites for customers in 18 countries.

Biden to nominate former Sen. Bill Nelson as NASA administrator

March 19, 2021 William Harwood

Former Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, a longtime space advocate whose district included the Kennedy Space Center and who flew aboard the shuttle Columbia in 1986 as a congressional observer, is President Biden’s choice to serve as NASA’s next administrator, the White House announced Friday.

Soyuz crew relocates spacecraft to new space station parking spot

March 19, 2021 Stephen Clark

Two Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut strapped into their Soyuz spacecraft Friday and moved the capsule to a different docking port on the International Space Station, clearing the way arrival of a fresh crew next month.

NASA’s moon rocket scores an ‘A+‘ on critical engine test

March 18, 2021 Stephen Clark

The core piece of NASA’s first huge Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket designed to carry astronauts back to the moon fired its main engines more than eight minutes Thursday in southern Mississippi, acing a crucial test before the it ships to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to prepare for liftoff.