William Harwood – Page 7 – Spaceflight Now

Boeing Starliner launch Saturday ruled out as helium leak analysis continues

May 22, 2024 William Harwood

Plans to launch Boeing’s oft-delayed Starliner spacecraft on its first crewed test flight Saturday were put on hold Tuesday night to give managers more time to evaluate a small helium leak in the ship’s propulsion system. A new launch target was not announced.

Blue Origin resumes passenger flights, carries crew of six and 90-year-old aerospace pioneer to space

May 20, 2024 William Harwood

Ed Dwight, a 90-year-old artist and former Air Force test pilot who was denied a chance to become the first African American astronaut six decades ago, finally rocketed into space Sunday, fulfilling a cherished dream in a brief up-and-down flight out of the lower atmosphere.

Boeing Starliner launch slips to May 21 to verify helium leak fix

May 14, 2024 William Harwood

Launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket carrying Boeing’s Starliner capsule is slipping another four days, from Friday to next Tuesday, to give engineers time to make sure a helium leak in the crew ship’s propulsion system has been resolved, officials said Tuesday.

Starliner launch scrubbed by trouble with a valve in the Atlas 5’s Centaur upper stage

May 7, 2024 William Harwood

An Atlas 5 rocket carrying astronauts for the first time was fueled for blastoff Monday night to boost Boeing’s long-delayed Starliner crew ferry ship into orbit for its first piloted test flight. But trouble with a valve in the rocket’s upper stage forced mission managers to order a scrub just two hours before takeoff.

Long-delayed Boeing Starliner ready for first piloted flight to space station

May 6, 2024 William Harwood

Years behind schedule and more than a billion dollars over budget, Boeing’s Starliner capsule is finally poised for its first piloted launch Monday, a critical test flight carrying two veteran astronauts to the International Space Station and in so doing, demonstrate an alternative to SpaceX’s already operational Crew Dragon.

Crew Dragon docks with space station after smooth rendezvous

March 5, 2024 William Harwood

A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft caught up with the International Space Station early Tuesday after a 28-hour orbital chase, bringing three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to the outpost for a six-month tour of duty.

SpaceX launches three-man one-woman crew to space station

March 4, 2024 William Harwood

Three NASA astronauts and a cosmonaut blasted off on a flight to the International Space Station Sunday, the first of two launches by NASA and the Russian space agency to replace five of the lab’s seven crew members and to deliver a fresh Soyuz ferry ship for two cosmonauts midway through a yearlong flight.

SpaceX launches billion-dollar environmental research satellite for NASA

February 8, 2024 William Harwood

SpaceX launched an environmental research satellite for NASA early Thursday, a nearly $1 billion spacecraft that survived multiple cancellation threats and is now poised to shed new light on climate change and the complex interplay of heat-trapping carbon, aerosols and sea life on global scales.

Despite engine malfunction, powered-down Japanese moon lander achieves major goals

January 25, 2024 William Harwood

One of two engines powering a Japanese moon lander during its descent to the surface Jan. 19 suffered a malfunction of some sort just 160 feet above the lunar surface that sharply reduced its power, the Japanese space agency said Thursday.

Japanese moon lander touches down, but crippled by mission-ending power glitch

January 19, 2024 William Harwood

A robotic Japanese moon lander touched down on the lunar surface Friday, but it immediately suffered a power glitch of some sort that prevented its solar cells from generating the electricity needed to keep it alive in the harsh lunar environment.