Stephen Clark – Page 213 – Spaceflight Now

Live view of the Falcon 9 launch pad (members only)

December 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

Spaceflight Now members can watch a live view of the Falcon 9 launch pad at Cape Canaveral as SpaceX prepares for a hold-down test-firing of the booster’s nine Merlin engines ahead of launch Dec. 16 with the JCSAT 18/Kacific 1 commercial communications satellite.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 set for launch Monday from Cape Canaveral

December 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX teams at Cape Canaveral raised a Falcon 9 rocket vertical at the Complex 40 launch pad and performed a static fire test Friday. The Falcon 9 will be used to launch a commercial geostationary communications satellite no earlier than Monday at 7:10 p.m. EST (0010 GMT Tuesday).

NASA selects site for OSIRIS-REx to collect asteroid samples

December 12, 2019 Stephen Clark

Using precise autonomous navigation algorithms, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will descend to the surface of an asteroid next year, aiming to retrieve rock specimens for return to Earth from a gravelly pit flanked by hazardous boulders, scientists said Thursday.

NASA gives go-ahead for Starliner test flight to space station

December 12, 2019 Stephen Clark

NASA officials cleared Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft for flight Thursday after a “thorough and comprehensive” review of the crew capsule’s readiness, setting the stage for final pre-launch preparations at Cape Canaveral ahead of liftoff Dec. 20 on an unpiloted demonstration mission to the International Space Station.

Rocket Lab to debut Virginia launch pad with U.S. Air Force mission next year

December 12, 2019 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab plans to launch a research and development microsatellite mission for the U.S. Air Force in the first half of 2020 on the the first flight from the company’s new launch facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, officials announced Thursday.

Russia adds new satellite to Glonass navigation fleet

December 11, 2019 Stephen Clark

Russia launched a fresh satellite for the Glonass network Wednesday aboard a Soyuz rocket, replenishing a fleet of positioning and timing stations used around the world for navigation services.

India’s 50th PSLV lifts off with satellites from five nations

December 11, 2019 Stephen Clark

The 50th flight of an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle delivered 10 spacecraft from five nations into orbit Wednesday, including a new Indian radar surveillance platform and a batch of small commercial Earth observation satellites.

Live coverage: India launches second PSLV mission in two weeks

December 11, 2019 Stephen Clark

An Indian radar observation satellite designed to collect information on natural disasters, pollution and monitor the military activity of India’s neighbors lifted off at 4:55 a.m. EST (0955 GMT) Wednesday on top of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, the second PSLV mission in two weeks.

Blue Origin preps for suborbital launch

December 10, 2019 Stephen Clark

After poor weather scrubbed a launch attempt Tuesday, Blue Origin plans to launch the 12th flight of the company’s New Shepard suborbital booster Wednesday from West Texas with a package of research payloads.

SpaceX to experiment with less-reflective satellite coatings on next Starlink launch

December 9, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s next launch of satellites for the company’s Starlink broadband network — planned in the final days of 2019 — will carry one spacecraft with an experimental coating designed to make it less reflective in orbit, a first step in assuaging concerns from scientists who say the deployment of thousands more Starlink stations would impede some astronomical observations.