Stephen Clark – Page 108 – Spaceflight Now

Starliner capsule fueled for unpiloted test flight to International Space Station

June 22, 2021 Stephen Clark

Boeing finished loading hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide maneuvering propellants over the weekend into the company’s second space-rated Starliner capsule at the Kennedy Space Center, days after stacking of its Atlas 5 launcher began a few miles away at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Photos: SpaceX rocket launches, then lands, on Space Force mission

June 21, 2021 Stephen Clark

These photos show the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket June 17 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying a GPS navigation satellite into orbit for the U.S. Space Force. Once its job was complete, the rocket’s first stage booster returned to a landing on a SpaceX drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Chinese military payloads deployed on Long March 2C rocket launch

June 21, 2021 Stephen Clark

China launched three more Yaogan 30 military reconnaissance satellites June 18 aboard a Long March 2C rocket.

Photos: Surplus missile motor from 1960s launches classified NRO satellites

June 20, 2021 Stephen Clark

A Cold War-era missile motor cast with solid propellant in 1966 fired up for the first time Wednesday to catapult a Northrop Grumman Minotaur 1 rocket off a launch pad in Virginia with three small spacecraft for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency.

Spacewalkers unfurl first of six new space station solar arrays

June 20, 2021 Stephen Clark

Astronauts Thomas Pesquet and Shane Kimbrough floated outside the International Space Station Sunday to deploy and unroll a new solar array blanket after encountering spacesuit glitches and an interference issue during a previous excursion Wednesday.

SpaceX launches first national security mission on reused commercial rocket

June 17, 2021 Stephen Clark

A fresh GPS navigation beacon destined to replace a nearly 17-year-old satellite rode into orbit from Cape Canaveral on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Thursday, marking the first time risk-averse U.S. military space officials have agreed to launch a national security mission on a reused commercial booster.

Chinese astronauts enter Tiangong space station for first time

June 17, 2021 Stephen Clark

Three Chinese astronauts floated into the country’s new Tiangong space station Thursday, becoming the first people to board China’s outpost in orbit after a successful launch from a military base in the Gobi Desert to start a three-month mission.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches GPS satellite for U.S. Space Force

June 17, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a national security payload for the U.S. military Thursday for the first time using a previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket booster. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with a GPS navigation satellite at 12:09 p.m. EDT (1609 GMT).

Live coverage: China launches first crew to new space station

June 16, 2021 Stephen Clark

Three Chinese astronauts launched at 9:22 p.m. EDT Wednesday (0122 GMT Thursday) aboard the Shenzhou 12 spacecraft. A Long March 2F rocket blasted off from northwest China and successfully carried the astronauts into orbit, setting the stage for their docking at the Tiangong space station about six hours later.

U.S. Space Force clears reused SpaceX rocket for launch with GPS satellite

June 16, 2021 Stephen Clark

Following years of planning, a GPS navigation satellite built by Lockheed Martin will be the first operational U.S. military payload to ride a reused SpaceX booster on a launch from Florida Thursday, laying the groundwork for future national security missions to save money by incorporating recycled rocket parts.