September 2023 – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

Another Falcon 9 hits 17-flight milestone with Starlink launch

September 23, 2023 Spaceflight Now

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched from Cape Canaveral Saturday night with a first-stage booster making its 17th flight. It was only the second to reach this milestone. Liftoff, with 22 Starlink satellites occurred at 11:38 p.m. EDT (0338 UTC Sunday).

NASA is bringing an asteroid sample back to Earth – here’s when, how and why

September 22, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The sample of asteroid Bennu collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is set to return to Earth the morning of Sept. 24.

Artemis 2 astronauts go to the launch pad for launch day practice

September 22, 2023 Spaceflight Now

Ahead of launching the Artemis 2 mission no earlier than November 2024, the four astronauts donned test flight suits to go through a pre-launch simulation. They rode to launch pad 39B in Canoo electric vehicles and climbed the Mobile Launcher tower.

NASA astronaut looks forward to family hugs, peace and quiet, after yearlong flight

September 22, 2023 William Harwood

If NASA had asked astronaut Frank Rubio, well in advance, if he would like to spend a full year aboard the International Space Station, he likely would have turned it down. But that’s how it turned out anyway, when trouble with his crew’s Soyuz ferry ship forced them to extended a six-month stay to 12.

SpaceX launches Falcon 9 on record-breaking 17th flight for booster

September 20, 2023 Spaceflight Now

SpaceX continued to push the boundaries of booster reusability Tuesday night with the launch of a Falcon 9 using a first stage rocket making its 17th flight. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral with 22 satellites for the Starlink internet network occurred at 11:38 p.m. EDT (0338 UTC).

Radar-imaging satellite lost as Rocket Lab Electron rocket suffers launch failure

September 19, 2023 Spaceflight Now

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket, carrying a radar-imaging satellite for Capella Space, failed on Tuesday after a problem occurred two and half minutes into flight. It was the fourth failure in 41 flights for the small satellite launcher.

Radar-imaging satellite lost as Rocket Lab Electron rocket fails

September 18, 2023 Spaceflight Now

Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket failed to launch a radar-imaging satellite for Capella Space on Tuesday after a problem occurred shortly after separation of the first stage about two and a half minutes into flight.

Russian-US crew launches on Soyuz rocket to International Space Station

September 15, 2023 Spaceflight Now

Two Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 11:44 a.m. EDT (1544 UTC) to relieve a space station crew that unexpectedly served a year in space. Russian commander Oleg Kononenko, Russian flight engineer Nikolai Chub and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara took a fast-track trajectory to the station to dock at about 2:56 p.m. EDT (1856 UTC).

Weather clears in time for SpaceX Starlink launch

September 14, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 11:38 p.m. EDT (0338 UTC), sending 22 Starlink satellites up to low Earth orbit.

FAA closes SpaceX-led Starship mishap investigation

September 12, 2023 Spaceflight Now

The FAA has closed the SpaceX-led mishap investigation following the first Starship Integrated Test Flight (IFT). SpaceX founder Elon Musk also published the checklist of 63 items to be completed before the company can apply for a launch license modification for IFT-2.