Stephen Clark – Page 15 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX postpones Starlink launch as NASA crew mission takes priority

February 22, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX has postponed the launch of another batch of Starlink internet satellites from Thursday as the company’s team in Florida prioritizes preparations for the launch of a four-man next week bound for the International Space Station.

Relativity sets launch date for first flight of Terran 1 rocket

February 22, 2023 Stephen Clark

Relativity Space plans to skip a final test-firing of its first fully stacked Terran 1 rocket at Cape Canaveral and proceed with a launch attempt March 8 for the methane-fueled, 3D-printed launcher, the company said Wednesday.

Russia blames Progress leak on ‘external influences’ as new Soyuz preps for launch

February 21, 2023 Stephen Clark

Russia’s space agency said Tuesday that preliminary data suggest a coolant leak on a Progress cargo freighter docked at the International Space Station earlier this month was caused by “external influences” — possibly something that occurred during its launch last year, according to a senior NASA space station manager.

SpaceX completes Friday doubleheader with launch for Inmarsat

February 17, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX completed a launch doubleheader Friday night with the liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral carrying a dual-band, six-ton mobile communications relay station for London-based Inmarsat, hours after launching another Falcon 9 from California with a batch of Starlink internet satellites.

Russian cargo ship departs space station after coolant leak

February 17, 2023 Stephen Clark

Russian cosmonauts took pictures of the location where coolant leaked out of a Russian Progress cargo ship earlier this month when the supply freighter departed the International Space Station Friday night, as scheduled, to head for a destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean.

Falcon 9 launch from California adds 51 more satellites to Starlink network

February 17, 2023 Stephen Clark

A Falcon 9 rocket delivered 51 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit Friday after launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, adding to SpaceX’s global broadband network that reaches all seven continents.

First launch of Japan’s H3 rocket aborted moments before liftoff

February 17, 2023 Stephen Clark

Japan’s first H3 rocket, nearly a decade in development, was moments from liftoff Thursday (U.S. time) when the launch vehicle detected a problem and cut off the countdown just before sending a command to ignite two strap-on solid-fueled boosters.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches 51 more Starlink satellites

February 17, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX teams in California launched a Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 11:12 a.m. PST (2:12 p.m. EST; 1912 GMT) carrying 51 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit.

Inmarsat satellite poised to provide connectivity over Atlantic Ocean

February 16, 2023 Stephen Clark

A large European-built communications satellite owned by London-based Inmarsat is set to ride a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Friday night from Cape Canaveral, kicking off a mission to connect ships and airplanes across the Atlantic Ocean and the U.S. East Coast through 2040.

Japan’s new H3 rocket ready for first test flight

February 16, 2023 Stephen Clark

Japan is set to test its new flagship launch vehicle, the H3, with a demonstration flight Thursday night from the Tanegashima Space Center, debuting a rocket that is less expensive, more capable, and more flexible than the country’s previous generation of launchers.