Stephen Clark – Page 103 – Spaceflight Now

China launches Tianhui military mapping satellite

August 3, 2021 Stephen Clark

China successfully launched a Long March 2D rocket July 29 with a Tianhui military satellite on a mission to collect data for maps and land surveys.

Launch of Boeing crew capsule scrubbed due to propulsion system issue

August 3, 2021 Stephen Clark

Officials scrubbed the planned launch of a Boeing-built crew capsule Tuesday to examine a potential technical issue in the spacecraft’s propulsion system, delaying the start of a critical unpiloted test flight to prove the ship is ready to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station.

Live coverage: Launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft scrubbed

August 2, 2021 Stephen Clark

The planned liftoff of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft was scrubbed Tuesday. The unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station is a prerequisite for launching astronauts on the next Starliner mission. The next launch attempt is expected at 12:57 p.m. EDT (1657 GMT) Wednesday.

Ariane 5 rocket launches two geostationary communications satellites

July 30, 2021 Stephen Clark

A European Ariane 5 rocket launched from French Guiana Friday, succeeding on its first flight in nearly a year to deploy a pair of geostationary communications satellites for commercial operators in Brazil and France.

Live coverage: Ariane 5 rocket launches from French Guiana

July 30, 2021 Stephen Clark

An Ariane 5 rocket launched at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) from Kourou, French Guiana, on the first mission for Europe’s heavy-lift launcher in nearly a year. The rocket successfully deployed two large communications satellites for Embratel and Eutelsat.

Live coverage: Newly-arrived Russian module causes problems at space station

July 29, 2021 Stephen Clark

Russia’s Nauka science module docked with the International Space Station at 9:29 a.m. EDT (1329 GMT) Thursday. Hours later, unexpected thruster firings caused the station to temporarily lose attitude control. Nauka is the largest addition to the complex in more than a decade.

Rocket Lab returns to service with “flawless” launch for U.S. military

July 29, 2021 Stephen Clark

Resuming launches after a mission failure two months ago, Rocket Lab successfully placed a small U.S. military research and development satellite into orbit Thursday following a fiery liftoff from New Zealand on a flight that was originally supposed to launch from the company’s new pad in Virginia.

Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches return-to-flight mission

July 29, 2021 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s first mission since a launch failure in May blasted off from New Zealand at 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT) Thursday. The company’s Electron rocket launched the small Monolith tech demo satellite for the U.S. military.

Rocket Lab set to resume launches Thursday after failure in May

July 28, 2021 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab is set to launch a small U.S. military technology demonstration satellite from New Zealand Thursday on the company’s first mission since a second stage failure doomed a commercial mission in May.

Live coverage: Launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft delayed to Tuesday

July 28, 2021 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket rolled out to pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida Thursday, moving into position for liftoff to begin a critical unpiloted test flight of Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule to the International Space Station. Officials postponed the Starliner launch from Friday after a problem with the newly-arrived Russian Nauka module at the station.