Spaceflight Now – Page 12 – Spaceflight Now

Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket makes its final flight, successfully deploys two satellites

July 4, 2023 Spaceflight Now

Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket, which is being retired after 27 years of service, successfully launched two satellites on its final mission. Liftoff from the Guiana Space Center, the European spaceport in South America, occurred at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 UTC).

The last European Ariane 5 rocket arrives at the launch pad for its final countdown

July 3, 2023 Spaceflight Now

The last Ariane 5 rocket was hauled to the launch pad on Monday at the Guiana Space Centre, Europe’s South American spaceport. Ariane 5, which for years was the world’s leading commercial satellite launcher, is scheduled to make its final lift off on Tuesday, carrying a French military satellite and a communications technology testbed spacecraft for Germany.

SpaceX conducts six-engine test fire as it gears up for second Starship flight

June 27, 2023 Spaceflight Now

SpaceX conducted a six-engine static test fire on Monday of the Starship vehicle that will eventually be paired with a Super Heavy booster for the second test flight of the company’s fully-reusable launch system. The firing took place at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in south Texas.

Final Ariane 5 launch scheduled for July 4 after fixes to booster separation system

June 26, 2023 Spaceflight Now

Europe’s last Ariane 5 rocket is now scheduled to lift off July 4 after being grounded for more than two weeks due to a problem with the pyrotechnic systems required to jettison the launcher’s strap-on solid rocket boosters. Europe’s workhorse rocket is being retired after 27 years of service.

Webb spots vast plume of water vapor spewing from Saturn’s moon Enceladus

June 2, 2023 Spaceflight Now

Using the sensitivity of the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have managed to detect a vast plume of water vapor spewing from the southern pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, a jet extending nearly 6,000 miles and feeding a previously detected torus circling the entire planet.

Jammed radar boom on Jupiter-bound JUICE probe finally freed

May 19, 2023 Spaceflight Now

After three weeks of intense analysis and troubleshooting, European Space Agency flight controllers have finally succeeded in freeing a jammed boom critical to the Jupiter-bound JUICE probe’s ice-penetrating radar instrument.

Live coverage: SpaceX’s Starship rocket explodes on test flight from Texas

April 20, 2023 Spaceflight Now

SpaceX launched the first full-scale Starship and Super Heavy rocket from South Texas at 8:33 a.m. CDT (9:33 a.m. EDT; 1333 UTC Thursday). The nearly 40-story-tall rocket, the largest ever built, lifted off from the Starbase launch complex and flew downrange before veering out of control and exploding about four minutes into the flight.

Launch Pad Live: Feeds from Starbase and Kennedy Space Center

April 18, 2023 Spaceflight Now

Watch a live 24-7 stream of space operations from Starbase, Texas, and Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Live coverage: SpaceX scrubs launch attempt for Starship test flight

April 17, 2023 Spaceflight Now

SpaceX called off a launch attempt in Texas Monday for the Super Heavy booster and Starship launch vehicle, blaming a bad valve on the first stage. The next launch attempt for the world’s largest rocket is scheduled for Thursday, depending on weather and a fix for the valve problem.

Time-lapse: Falcon Heavy rolls out for static fire

April 13, 2023 Spaceflight Now

A Falcon 9 rocket rolls to launch pad 39A on Apr. 12, 2023, for a static test fire before its launch with the ViaSat 3 Americas broadband communications satellite.