Stephen Clark – Page 413 – Spaceflight Now

Lost Philae lander found on comet

September 5, 2016 Stephen Clark

Scientists culling through images taken last week by the Rosetta spacecraft’s sharp-eyed science camera have finally pinpointed the exact spot the Philae lander settled on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko after a daring descent nearly two years ago, the European Space Agency announced Monday.

Chinese officials silent after Long March rocket failure

September 2, 2016 Stephen Clark

A U.S. Air Force spokesperson said Friday that the military has not detected any objects deployed in orbit by a Chinese Long March rocket launch Wednesday, but China’s official media outlets still have not acknowledged the apparent failure.

Video: Falcon 9 rocket explodes on the launch pad

September 1, 2016 Stephen Clark

Watch as a 23-story Falcon 9 rocket explodes Thursday morning during a countdown before a pre-launch engine hotfire test at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad.

SpaceX rocket and Israeli satellite destroyed in launch pad explosion

September 1, 2016 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded in the final minutes of a simulated countdown at Cape Canaveral on Thursday, destroying the booster and an Israeli communications satellite valued at nearly $200 million.

Tropical storm could be a factor in SpaceX launch Saturday

August 31, 2016 Stephen Clark

Weather forecasters at Cape Canaveral are keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Hermine in the Gulf of Mexico in case winds and thick clouds from the cyclone threaten the scheduled launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early Saturday.

Images from European satellite reveal possible impact with space junk

August 31, 2016 Stephen Clark

A minuscule particle of orbital debris or a pebble of space rock struck Europe’s Sentinel 1A radar imaging satellite Aug. 23, officials said Wednesday, leaving an imprint nearly twice the size of a basketball on one of the spacecraft’s solar panels.

India tests scramjet demonstrator over Bay of Bengal

August 30, 2016 Stephen Clark

India’s space agency launched a modified suborbital sounding rocket Sunday and ignited two air-breathing scramjet engines at Mach 6 for a brief five-second experiment that could pave the way for a future reusable space transport system.

SES agrees to launch satellite on ‘flight-proven’ Falcon 9 rocket

August 30, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX and SES, an international communications satellite operator based in Luxembourg, have agreed to place the SES 10 television relay craft aboard the first launch of a reused “flight-proven” Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral as soon as October, the companies announced Tuesday.

Juno gets its closest look at Jupiter

August 27, 2016 Stephen Clark

Nearly two months after NASA’s Juno spacecraft slipped into orbit around Jupiter, the solar-powered probe made a passage 2,600 miles over the giant planet’s colorful banded clouds Saturday, the closest planned encounter during its 20-month exploration of the solar system’s largest world.

Photos: Ariane 5 lights up the night in French Guiana

August 27, 2016 Stephen Clark

An Ariane 5 rocket ignited its hydrogen-fueled Vulcain 2 main engine and two solid rocket boosters to send two Intelsat communications satellite into orbit this week, casting a brilliant glow across its launch base carved from the jungle of French Guiana.