Stephen Clark – Page 444 – Spaceflight Now

First Intelsat Epic satellite deployed by Ariane 5 rocket

January 28, 2016 Stephen Clark

A powerhouse communications satellite with up to five times the capacity of most existing telecom craft reached orbit Wednesday after a nighttime blastoff from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, marking an auspicious start to the deployment of Intelsat’s $2 billion next-generation satellite network.

Live coverage: Intelsat’s first “Epic” satellite in orbit after Ariane 5 launch

January 27, 2016 Stephen Clark

The first satellite in a new class of ultra-powerful communications satellites for Intelsat lifted off Wednesday aboard the first Ariane 5 flight of the year. Launch from French Guiana occurred at 2320 GMT (6:20 p.m. EST).

Proton rocket rolled out for launch of Eutelsat satellite

January 26, 2016 Stephen Clark

Riding on its side aboard a rail car, a Proton rocket trekked to its launch pad Tuesday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with a Eutelsat television broadcast satellite ready for liftoff Friday.

First Ariane 5 launch of the year set for Wednesday

January 26, 2016 Stephen Clark

An Ariane 5 rocket journeyed from its assembly hangar to a nearby launch pad in French Guiana on Tuesday, a day before the heavy-duty launcher is scheduled for liftoff with the first in a new generation of high-capacity communications satellites for Intelsat.

Falcon 9 upgrade receives blessing from U.S. Air Force

January 25, 2016 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force on Monday certified the latest version of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, featuring higher-thrust engines, enlarged fuel tanks and a super-chilled propellant mixture, for launches of the military’s most valuable satellites.

LISA Pathfinder on station a million miles from Earth

January 25, 2016 Stephen Clark

Europe’s LISA Pathfinder mission crafted to demonstrate the ability to detect gravitational waves — theorized ubiquitous cosmic signals that have so far eluded discovery — has arrived at its operating post around the L1 Lagrange point nearly a million miles from Earth.

Blue Origin’s reusable New Shepard booster flies again

January 23, 2016 Stephen Clark

Two months after it flew into space and landed smoothly, Blue Origin’s suborbital New Shepard booster made the trip again Friday, proving it can be reused for future space tourism jaunts and laying the groundwork for a future commercial satellite launcher, the company said.

Dragon crew capsule’s propulsive landing system tested

January 21, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX released a video Thursday showing a propulsive hover test of a prototype of the company’s Dragon crew capsule conducted two months ago, a milestone in the development of the spaceship’s rocket packs that will eventually guide the craft to helicopter-like landings.

Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft breaks solar power distance record

January 21, 2016 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Juno spacecraft bound for a rendezvous with Jupiter in July has set a record as the most distant solar-powered space probe ever flown.

SpaceX rocket wreckage back on shore after near-miss at landing

January 20, 2016 Stephen Clark

Debris from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket booster returned to shore in Southern California late Monday after it tipped over on touchdown on a landing platform in the Pacific Ocean following liftoff with a ocean study satellite.