Stephen Clark – Page 171 – Spaceflight Now

Minotaur rocket successfully deploys four NRO satellites in orbit

July 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

A solid-fueled Northrop Grumman Minotaur 4 rocket vaulted into orbit Wednesday from Virginia’s Eastern Shore and deployed four top secret spacecraft for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency, extending the program’s success record ahead of three more Minotaur missions planned in 2021.

Photos: Minotaur 4 rocket ready for launch from Virginia

July 14, 2020 Stephen Clark

A 78-foot-tall Minotaur 4 rocket is poised for liftoff Wednesday from Virginia’s Eastern Shore carrying four top secret payloads into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Live coverage: Minotaur 4 rocket launches from Virginia

July 14, 2020 Stephen Clark

A solid-fueled Minotaur 4 rocket lifted off from Wallops Island, Virginia at 9:46 a.m. EDT (1346 GMT) Wednesday. The four-stage rocket, comprised of retired Peacekeeper missile parts, launched on a mission to deliver four classified payloads into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Five years after New Horizons flyby, scientists assess next mission to Pluto

July 14, 2020 Stephen Clark

Five years ago Tuesday, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft barreled by Pluto for a high-speed encounter that gave humanity its first close-up look at a distant world that puzzled astronomers and planetary scientists for nearly a century. Scientists are now planning how to go back.

Minotaur rocket ready to launch four payloads for U.S. spy satellite agency

July 14, 2020 Stephen Clark

Four clandestine payloads for the National Reconnaissance Office are awaiting liftoff Wednesday from Wallops Island, Virginia, on a Minotaur 4 rocket powered by Cold War-era missile stages stored for more than 30 years until their conversion into a satellite launcher.

Live coverage: Launch of Emirates Mars Mission rescheduled for Sunday

July 14, 2020 Stephen Clark

The launch of a Japanese H-2A rocket with the Emirates Mars Mission, a Mars orbiter developed in partnership between Emirati and U.S. scientists, was delayed Tuesday due to poor weather at the H-2A’s launch site on Tanegashima Island in southern Japan. Officials later announced that liftoff would not occur Thursday, again citing bad weather at the launch site. A new launch attempt is scheduled for Sunday, weather permitting.

Arab world’s first Mars mission packs a scientific punch

July 13, 2020 Stephen Clark

The UAE’s Hope mission is set for liftoff this week from Japan, taking aim on Mars with a package of scientific instruments designed to probe weather and climate change on the Red Planet.

Falcon 9 launch of South Korean military satellite postponed

July 13, 2020 Stephen Clark

The planned launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday from Cape Canaveral of a South Korean military communications satellite has been delayed in order to address an issue on the launcher’s second stage, and potentially replace the hardware if necessary, officials said Monday.

UAE’s first Mars probe meets launcher in Japan

July 12, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Mars orbiter developed by the United Arab Emirates in partnership with U.S. scientists has been mounted on top of a Japanese H-2A rocket and its battery charged for liftoff Tuesday from the Tanegashima Space Center.

SpaceX test-fires Falcon 9 rocket launch next week with Korean military satellite

July 11, 2020 Stephen Clark

Hours after calling off a launch of a different rocket from a nearby launch pad, SpaceX’s launch team loaded a Falcon 9 rocket with propellant Saturday and fired its nine main engines on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, setting the stage for a liftoff with a South Korean military satellite as soon as Tuesday amid a busy stretch of missions for the California-based rocket company.