March 2023 – Page 4 – Spaceflight Now

Proton rocket launches classified Russian government satellite

March 13, 2023 Stephen Clark

A Proton rocket launched Sunday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, boosting into a high-altitude orbit a classified Russian government satellite Western analysts believe is designed to eavesdrop on other countries’ radio transmissions.

Crew Dragon splashes down to close out 157-day mission

March 12, 2023 William Harwood

Two NASA astronauts, a Japanese space veteran and a Russian cosmonaut bid their seven space station crewmates farewell and returned to Earth Saturday night, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico near Tampa after a fiery plunge back through the lower atmosphere.

Relativity Space scrubs second launch attempt for Terran 1 rocket

March 11, 2023 Stephen Clark

Relativity Space got within a half-second of launching its first 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket Saturday from Cape Canaveral, but the countdown aborted after engine startup and the startup aerospace company stood down from its second launch attempt.

SpaceX capsule with four-person crew departs space station, heads for Earth

March 11, 2023 Stephen Clark

Closing out five months on the International Space Station, two NASA astronauts, a five-time Japanese space flier, and a Russian cosmonaut departed the complex Saturday inside a SpaceX Dragon crew capsule, heading for a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico around 19 hours later.

Live coverage: Four-person space station returns to Earth

March 11, 2023 Stephen Clark

NASA commander Nicole Mann, pilot Josh Cassada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina undocked from the International Space Station at 2:20 a.m. EST (0720 GMT) Saturday aboard SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance spacecraft. Wrapping up a five-month mission, the commercial crew capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida at 9:02 p.m. EST Saturday (0202 GMT Sunday).

Rocket Lab’s second launch from Virginia will loft two commercial radar satellites

March 10, 2023 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s second mission from a new launch pad in Virginia is set to take off with two commercial radar remote sensing satellites for Capella Space.

SpaceX launches and lands rocket on mission for OneWeb

March 9, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Thursday with 40 more internet satellites for rival OneWeb, followed eight minutes later by the landing of the rocket’s first stage booster back at the Florida spaceport.

Relativity Space scrubs first launch attempt

March 8, 2023 Stephen Clark

Relativity Space’s first launch countdown aborted about a minute before liftoff Wednesday at Cape Canaveral when sensors detected warmer-than-expected liquid oxygen on the Terran 1 rocket’s second stage, delaying until Saturday the first test flight of the 3D-printed launcher.

Two launches for OneWeb this month will enable network’s global coverage

March 8, 2023 Stephen Clark

OneWeb is in the home stretch of a four-year launch campaign with two more missions — scheduled this week with SpaceX and later this month with NewSpace India Limited — set to give the company enough satellites to provide global internet coverage.

Relativity Space ready to launch 3D-printed, methane-fueled orbital rocket

March 8, 2023 Stephen Clark

Relativity Space, a California-based startup that counts billionaire Mark Cuban as one of its early investors, is ready to launch the first 3D-printed, methane-fueled rocket into orbit from Cape Canaveral.