October 2022 – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

Soyuz rocket launches with demo satellite for Russian internet constellation

October 22, 2022 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz rocket launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome Saturday with three Gonets data relay payloads and a demonstrator spacecraft for a proposed constellation of Russian broadband internet satellites.

Live coverage: Indian rocket launches 36 OneWeb satellites

October 22, 2022 Stephen Clark

India’s most powerful rocket, the GSLV Mk.3, launched 36 OneWeb internet satellites at 2:37 p.m. EDT (1837 GMT) Saturday. The mission resumed launches for OneWeb after the suspension of flights on Russian Soyuz rockets earlier this year.

OneWeb set to resume launches on Indian rocket

October 21, 2022 Stephen Clark

After the suspension of commercial launches on Russia’s Soyuz rocket earlier this year, OneWeb is set to resume deploying satellites for its global internet network Saturday with an Indian GSLV Mk.3 launcher, one of five OneWeb missions planned before mid-2023 to finish the company’s first-generation constellation.

NASA’s Juno spacecraft captures closest views of Europa since 2000

October 20, 2022 Stephen Clark

Continuing to gather bonus science data in an extended mission around Jupiter, NASA’s Juno spacecraft recorded sharp views of the icy moon Europa Sept. 29 as the solar-powered probe raced by at a relative velocity of nearly 53,000 mph.

Another batch of Starlink satellites launch from Cape Canaveral

October 20, 2022 Stephen Clark

Fifty-four Starlink internet satellites fastened to a Falcon 9 rocket blasted off Thursday from Cape Canaveral, continuing SpaceX’s deployments for a broadband network reaching into an ever-expanding market linking rural households, ships, commercial airplanes, and Ukrainian military forces in their fight against Russia.

Russia launches three satellite deployment missions in one week

October 18, 2022 Stephen Clark

All three of Russia’s major rockets — the Soyuz, Proton, and Angara — launched last week on missions to deploy a Russian navigation satellite, an Angolan communications spacecraft, and a top secret military spy payload.

Failure of Japan’s Epsilon rocket blamed on attitude control system

October 18, 2022 Stephen Clark

Engineers investigating the Oct. 12 launch failure of a Japanese Epsilon rocket have traced the problem to the attitude control system on the second stage, Japan’s space agency said Tuesday.

SpaceX launches European TV broadcasting satellite

October 15, 2022 Stephen Clark

An Airbus-built communications satellite rocketed into orbit early Saturday from Cape Canaveral on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher, bound for a high-altitude perch in geostationary orbit to beam hundreds of TV and radio channels to Eutelsat customers across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

SpaceX Crew Dragon returns to Earth with on-target splashdown

October 14, 2022 William Harwood

Three NASA astronauts and a European flier boarded their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, undocked from the International Space Station and plunged back to Earth Friday, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean east of Jacksonville to close out a 170-day mission.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches Eutelsat TV broadcasting satellite

October 14, 2022 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off 1:22 a.m. EDT (0522 GMT) Saturday with Eutelsat’s Hotbird 13F television broadcasting satellite. The marked the 100th launch by SpaceX from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.