Stephen Clark – Page 27 – Spaceflight Now

Northrop Grumman ready for space station resupply mission

November 5, 2022 Stephen Clark

Northrop Grumman is set to launch the penultimate flight of its current Antares rocket configuration — with Russian engines and a Ukrainian first stage structure — to begin a resupply mission Sunday delivering more than four tons of cargo to the International Space Station.

Rocket Lab launches Swedish atmospheric research satellite, unable to catch booster

November 4, 2022 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s Electron launcher placed a small Swedish atmospheric research satellite into an on-target polar orbit Friday, but an attempt to recover a booster stage with a helicopter was aborted after a brief telemetry loss from the rocket on descent.

NASA’s Artemis 1 moon rocket back on pad 39B for nighttime launch attempt

November 4, 2022 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Space Launch System moon rocket arrived back on its Florida launch pad Friday, ready for a series of overnight launch opportunities beginning Nov. 14 to start a crucial, long-delayed test flight that officials hope will set the stage for future lunar missions with astronauts.

Live coverage: Rocket Lab misses helicopter recovery attempt after successful liftoff from New Zealand

November 4, 2022 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab launched an Electron rocket from New Zealand at 1:27 p.m. EDT (1727 GMT) with a small Swedish atmospheric research satellite. Continuing with its first stage reuse experiments, Rocket Lab hoped to catch the first stage booster with a helicopter, but teams will instead recover the rocket from the sea.

Rocket Lab’s next launch will feature mid-air booster recovery attempt

November 3, 2022 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab will try again Friday to catch an Electron first stage booster after launching from New Zealand with a small Swedish science satellite, six months after the company’s first mid-air recovery attempt.

SpaceX launches Airbus-built TV broadcasting spacecraft for Eutelsat

November 3, 2022 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched the second in a series of three Falcon 9 rocket missions early Thursday for the European satellite operator Eutelsat, delivering to orbit a television broadcasting craft that also hosts an EU-funded payload to provide precise navigation data to airplanes.

NASA’s Artemis 1 moon rocket ready for ride back to launch pad

November 3, 2022 Stephen Clark

After replacing and recharging batteries in the Vehicle Assembly Building, NASA ground teams plan to roll the more than 30-story-tall Space Launch System rocket back to its launch pad early Friday at Kennedy Space Center for another try Nov. 14 to send the Artemis 1 test flight around the moon.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches TV broadcasting satellite for Eutelsat

November 2, 2022 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket at 1:22 a.m. EDT (0522 GMT) Thursday from Cape Canaveral with Eutelsat’s Hotbird 13G television broadcasting satellite. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster landed on a downrange drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX teams in Florida prep for second launch in as many days

November 2, 2022 Stephen Clark

One day after launching a triple-body Falcon Heavy rocket a few miles up the coast, SpaceX rolled its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket to a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Wednesday for a late night mission to haul a Eutelsat television broadcasting satellite into orbit.

Falcon Heavy ‘simply outstanding’ on SpaceX’s first launch to geosynch orbit

November 1, 2022 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Space Force confirmed Tuesday that a Falcon Heavy launcher placed two main payloads and at least three smaller rideshare satellites directly into a high-altitude geosynchronous orbit after liftoff from Florida, an achievement that checks off one of the final unproven capabilities for SpaceX’s rocket family.