Stephen Clark – Page 10 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX launches another bundle of Starlink internet satellites

March 29, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX delivered 56 more Starlink internet satellites into the company’s global internet constellation after liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Wednesday, bringing the total number of Starlinks launched to 4,217 spacecraft.

Damaged Russian Soyuz capsule returns to Earth without a crew

March 28, 2023 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft originally slated to bring home two Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut parachuted to a landing in Kazakhstan Tuesday, returning to Earth without a crew due to concerns about overheating following a coolant leak while docked at the International Space Station last year.

Indian launch gives OneWeb enough satellites for global internet service

March 26, 2023 Stephen Clark

The successful launch of 36 more OneWeb satellites aboard India’s most powerful rocket Saturday brought the total number of OneWeb spacecraft in orbit to 618, enough for the London-based company to start global broadband service later this year.

Live coverage: India’s LVM3 rocket lifts off with 36 more OneWeb satellites

March 25, 2023 Stephen Clark

An Indian LVM3 rocket lifted off at 11:30 p.m. EDT Saturday (0330 UTC Sunday) with 36 more OneWeb internet satellites. Once the new 36 satellites complete orbit-raising and commissioning, OneWeb will have 618 active satellites in its fleet, enough for global broadband service.

Falcon 9 deploys 56 Starlink satellites on SpaceX’s 20th launch of the year

March 24, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX continued launching satellites for the Starlink internet network Friday, sending a Falcon 9 rocket aloft from Cape Canaveral with 56 more older-generation broadband spacecraft as ground teams troubleshoot problems with a batch of upgraded Starlinks launched last month.

Rocket Lab recovers booster again after launch with BlackSky satellites

March 24, 2023 Stephen Clark

Two BlackSky optical Earth-imaging satellites rode an Electron launcher into orbit Friday from New Zealand, while the Electron’s first stage booster gently parachuted into the Pacific Ocean as engineers consider abandoning airborne rocket recovery in favor of ship-based retrieval and reuse.

Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches BlackSky satellites from New Zealand

March 24, 2023 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s second launch in a little more than a week blasted off from New Zealand at 5:14 a.m. EDT (0914 UTC) Friday with two commercial Earth observation satellites for BlackSky. The Electron rocket’s first stage booster successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean for recovery.

SpaceX pausing launches of new-generation Starlink satellites

March 23, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s next two missions will revert to launching older versions of the company’s Starlink internet satellites, instead of new second-generation Starlink platforms as originally planned, while ground teams work out unspecified problems with the first batch of upgraded Starlinks launched in February.

Relativity’s 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket reaches space, but falls short of orbit

March 22, 2023 Stephen Clark

Relativity Space, a company with ambitions to develop a fully reusable rocket, launched its first expendable methane-fueled booster from Cape Canaveral Wednesday night, successfully demonstrating the strength of the launcher’s first-of-its-kind 3D-printed structure but failing to reach orbit after a malfunction on the test flight’s second stage.

Penultimate Delta rocket to launch next month on ULA’s first mission of 2023

March 22, 2023 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance’s second-to-last Delta 4-Heavy rocket is scheduled to blast off from Cape Canaveral April 20 with a classified cargo for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency, a mission that will mark ULA’s first flight of the year, officials announced this week.