Stephen Clark – Page 344 – Spaceflight Now

Familiar rocket with new name returns to flight Tuesday

October 30, 2017 Stephen Clark

More than six years after back-to-back failures left the Taurus rocket with an uncertain future, a redesigned version of the launcher sporting a new name is set to loft 10 small Earth-imaging satellites into orbit Tuesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

SpaceX launches — and lands — third rocket in three weeks

October 30, 2017 Stephen Clark

Heading into the home stretch of a banner year, SpaceX launched its third Falcon 9 rocket flight of the month Monday with a Korean-owned commercial communications satellite built to connect customers across a swath from the Middle East to East Asia.

Arianespace wins launch contracts from Inmarsat, Embratel Star One

October 30, 2017 Stephen Clark

The London-based mobile telecom provider Inmarsat and the Brazilian satellite operator Embratel Star One have selected Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket to launch two spacecraft from French Guiana in 2019.

Falcon 9 launch timeline with Koreasat 5A

October 30, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Monday, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the Koreasat 5A communications satellite into orbit around 36 minutes later.

Live coverage: SpaceX conducts third Falcon 9 launch of the month

October 30, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Korean communications satellite from Florida on Monday aboard the company’s third Falcon 9 rocket flight of the month. Liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center occurred at 3:34 p.m. EDT (1934 GMT), and the Falcon 9’s first stage landed on a floating barge in the Atlantic Ocean a few minutes later.

Video: Falcon 9 rocket raised vertical at pad 39A

October 29, 2017 Stephen Clark

On the eve of liftoff with a Korean communications satellite, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was lifted upright Sunday at launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA making steady progress on SLS mobile launch platform

October 29, 2017 Stephen Clark

Construction crews at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center are making steady progress outfitting the Space Launch System’s mobile platform with umbilical connections and access arms, and the walkway for astronauts to board the rocket is the most recent arrival at the Florida spaceport.

Korean communications craft installed on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket

October 29, 2017 Stephen Clark

A multipurpose communications satellite owned by a South Korean telecom company is set for liftoff Monday from Florida’s Space Coast aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster, and forecasters predict near-ideal conditions for a rocket launch.

Polar-orbiting weather satellite joined up with Delta 2 rocket in California

October 27, 2017 Stephen Clark

The first in NOAA’s new series of polar-orbiting weather satellites has been lifted atop United Launch Alliance’s second-to-last Delta 2 rocket on a launch pad in California, ready for encapsulation and final checkouts ahead of a predawn launch set for Nov. 10.

Falcon 9 rocket engines test-fired in advance of Monday launch

October 26, 2017 Stephen Clark

Moving closer toward launch Monday with a South Korean communications satellite, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fired its nine Merlin main engines Thursday on a launch pad in Florida in a key preflight readiness test.