June 2022 – Page 6 – Spaceflight Now

Live coverage: SpaceX launches Egyptian satellite

June 8, 2022 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday from Cape Canaveral with a telecom satellite for Egypt’s Nilesat. The Falcon 9 lifted off with the Nilesat 301 telecom payload at 5:04 p.m. EDT (2104 GMT), and the first stage booster landed on SpaceX’s drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX readies Falcon 9 rocket to launch Egyptian communications satellite

June 7, 2022 Stephen Clark

An Egyptian-owned communications satellite is nestled in the nose cone of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for launch Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, heading for an orbital position more than 22,000 miles over the equator.

Globalstar spare satellite to launch on SpaceX rocket this month

June 7, 2022 Stephen Clark

A spare satellite for Globalstar’s data relay and messaging constellation will launch from Cape Canaveral on a Falcon 9 rocket later this month, multiple sources said, in a previously-undisclosed mission on SpaceX’s schedule.

SpaceX cargo mission grounded to investigate possible fuel leak

June 6, 2022 Stephen Clark

SpaceX has postponed this week’s planned launch of a Dragon cargo mission to the International Space Station to investigate a possible leak detected during fueling of the spacecraft at Cape Canaveral, pushing the flight until no earlier than late June.

NASA’s SLS moon rocket returns to launch pad for more testing

June 6, 2022 Stephen Clark

NASA’s first Space Launch System moon rocket rolled out to its launch pad early Monday at the Kennedy Space Center for another attempt later this month to fully load it with super-cold propellants, the culmination of a countdown rehearsal officials aim to complete before moving forward with launch later this summer.

Small NASA lunar probe to hitch ride on commercial moon mission

June 6, 2022 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Lunar Flashlight — a small spacecraft to measure water ice in dark craters near the moon’s poles — will now launch as a piggyback payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket late this year after delays caused it to miss a ride on the agency’s Artemis 1 mission.

Chinese crew arrives at space station for six-month construction mission

June 5, 2022 Stephen Clark

China’s Shenzhou 14 spacecraft glided to an automated docking at the Tiangong space station Sunday, hours after launching with three astronauts to begin a six-month mission that will see the outpost triple in size with the arrival of two new 20-ton research modules.

Live coverage: Chinese space station crew launches into orbit

June 4, 2022 Stephen Clark

The next three-person crew heading to the Chinese Tiangong space station lifted off from northwestern China at 10:44 p.m. EDT Saturday (0244 GMT Sunday) on a fast-track rendezvous with the orbiting complex. Commander Chen Dong and astronauts Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe will aid in the construction of the Chinese space station.

Blue Origin launches six people to suborbital space

June 4, 2022 Stephen Clark

Blue Origin’s suborbital New Shepard rocket propelled six people to an altitude of more than 60 miles over West Texas Saturday, including the first Mexican-born woman to fly to space. The company has now flown five missions carrying 25 people to suborbital space, and aims to nearly double that figure by the end of this year.

Chinese astronauts prep for six-month space station construction flight

June 4, 2022 Stephen Clark

Three Chinese military pilots are ready for launch Saturday on a Long March 2F rocket to begin a six-month expedition to help expand China’s space station in low Earth orbit, a mission slated to include the arrival of two modules and multiple spacewalks.