Stephen Clark – Page 235 – Spaceflight Now

ExoMars parachute failures could jeopardize 2020 launch date

August 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

The European Space Agency has confirmed a parachute for the ExoMars rover mission set for launch next July failed during a test over Sweden earlier this month, the project’s second parachute test accident since May.

Photos: Falcon 9 rocket takes off with the Amos 17 satellite

August 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

These photos taken Aug. 6 show the liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Israeli-owned Amos 17 communications satellite, backdropped by dreary skies after thunderstorms passed through Cape Canaveral earlier in the day.

Rocket Lab to begin booster recovery experiments later this year

August 12, 2019 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s next launch from New Zealand, set for Friday, will carry a data recorder to measure the aerothermal environments encountered by the Electron launcher’s first stage during descent back into the atmosphere, information engineers say is crucial to successfully achieving the company’s newly-announced plan to recover and reuse the booster.

Atlas 5 launch adds to U.S. military’s secure communications satellite network

August 8, 2019 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket fired into space Thursday from Cape Canaveral with a $1.1 billion U.S. Air Force communications satellite, delivering fresh capacity for the military’s voice, video and data relay networks.

Photos: Atlas 5 paints the sky with spectacular sunrise launch

August 8, 2019 Stephen Clark

Skywatchers and early risers across Florida enjoyed dazzling views of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket climbing into space Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral with a U.S. military communications satellite.

Atlas 5 launch timeline on the AEHF 5 mission

August 8, 2019 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Atlas 5 rocket is set to launch the U.S. Air Force’s fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite from Cape Canaveral. This timeline shows the major mission events planned over a nearly six-hour flight to an optimized geostationary transfer orbit.

Photos: Atlas 5 rocket rolls out to launch pad 41

August 7, 2019 Stephen Clark

Set to fly in its most powerful configuration with five solid rocket boosters, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket rolled out to Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad Tuesday in preparation for a planned blastoff two days later with a U.S. military communications satellite.

Photos: AEHF 5 satellite encapsulated for launch

August 7, 2019 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force’s fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite, designed for secure, jam-resistant communications, is set for launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. These photos show the AEHF 5 satellite during encapsulation inside the Atlas 5’s payload shroud.

SpaceX successfully launches Israeli-owned telecom satellite

August 7, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX carried the Israeli-owned Amos 17 communications satellite from Cape Canaveral into orbit Tuesday on top of a Falcon 9 launcher, nearly three years after a SpaceX rocket explosion destroyed a predecessor payload before it could get off the ground.

Two communications satellites ride Ariane 5 rocket into geostationary transfer orbit

August 6, 2019 Stephen Clark

A U.S.-built commercial communications craft owned by Intelsat and a new node for Europe’s laser data relay satellite network rocketed into orbit Tuesday from Kourou, French Guiana, on top of an Ariane 5 rocket.