Stephen Clark – Page 209 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX test-fires rocket ahead of record-setting Starlink launch

January 4, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket Saturday at Cape Canaveral, two days before a scheduled launch Monday with 60 Starlink broadband relay stations that will make SpaceX the owner of the world’s largest fleet of commercial satellites.

Watch a live view of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch pad (members only)

January 4, 2020 Stephen Clark

Spaceflight Now members can watch a live view of the Falcon 9 rocket on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral as SpaceX prepares for launch of its first mission of 2020 on Monday at 9:19 p.m. EST (0219 GMT Tuesday).

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket launches on first mission of 2020

January 4, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched its first mission of the year Monday at 9:19 p.m. EST (0219 GMT Tuesday), when a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral with SpaceX’s third batch of 60 Starlink broadband satellites.

SpaceX drawing up plans for mobile gantry at launch pad 39A

January 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

With construction already underway at Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A on facilities for SpaceX’s next-generation Starship vehicle, another new fixture could soon rise at the seaside launch complex to satisfy U.S. military requirements to vertically integrate sensitive top secret spy satellites with Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.

Long March, Soyuz and Falcon rockets topped 2019’s launch leaderboard

January 2, 2020 Stephen Clark

China led the world with 34 orbital launch attempts in 2019 — including two failures — followed by 22 flights from Russian-operated launch pads and 21 satellite delivery missions originating from U.S. spaceports, all of which were successful.

Good weather predicted for Cape Canaveral’s first launch of 2020

January 2, 2020 Stephen Clark

Forecasters predict near-ideal weather conditions Monday night for the first launch at Cape Canaveral this year, when SpaceX plans to send another 60 Starlink broadband satellites into orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

NASA’s next Mars rover will soon ship to Cape Canaveral launch site

January 2, 2020 Stephen Clark

Fresh off its first terrestrial test drive, NASA’s Mars 2020 rover was displayed to media last week at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California before it’s packed up and flown across the country to Cape Canaveral in February to begin final launch preparations for liftoff in July.

Photos: Boeing’s Starliner ends shortened mission with landing in New Mexico

December 30, 2019 Stephen Clark

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft parachuted to an airbag-cushioned landing in New Mexico on Dec. 22 to conclude an abbreviated two-day test orbital test flight that accomplished many objectives, but missed a planned rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station.

Photos: Atlas 5 blasts off at dawn with Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule

December 30, 2019 Stephen Clark

Take a look back on the liftoff of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on its first orbital test flight Dec. 20 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket with these photos showing the capsule streaking into space at dawn.

Successful Long March 5 launch paves way for new Chinese space missions

December 27, 2019 Stephen Clark

The third launch of China’s heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket successfully delivered its satellite payload to orbit Friday, validating engine design changes after a failure on the Long March 5’s second flight, and clearing the way for the launch of a Chinese Mars rover and lunar sample return mission in 2020.