Stephen Clark – Page 483 – Spaceflight Now

ULA, SpaceX face off in landmark Air Force launch competition

May 13, 2015 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force has identified the launch of a next-generation GPS navigation satellite for the first in a series of competitive rocket procurements between United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, service officials announced Wednesday.

DMSP satellite debris expected to remain in orbit for decades

May 13, 2015 Stephen Clark

Satellite shards scattered by the explosion of an aging U.S. military weather spacecraft in February will remain in orbit for many decades, according to researchers who specialize in space debris.

Japanese scientists abandon plan for asteroid flyby

May 12, 2015 Stephen Clark

An experimental suitcase-sized space probe launched as a secondary payload with Japan’s Hayabusa 2 mission in December will miss an encounter with an asteroid early next year, according to Japanese scientists.

Skating rinks on Ceres? Ice could be source of bright spots

May 11, 2015 Stephen Clark

Scientists studying fresh pictures from NASA’s Dawn mission say gleaming dots seen on the dwarf planet Ceres may be from icy patches reflecting sunlight back into space.

Curiosity rover sees blue on the red planet

May 11, 2015 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Curiosity rover has returned a stunning image of the sun dipping behind a distant ridge from a vista inside Mars’s Gale Crater, only the Martian sunset spectacle appears blue instead of the reddish hues seen on Earth.

UAE details ambitious plan for Martian weather satellite

May 8, 2015 Stephen Clark

Scientists from the United Arab Emirates have announced the Arab world’s first Mars probe will launch in July 2020 and collect global measurements of the Martian atmosphere.

Stricken space freighter re-enters atmosphere

May 8, 2015 Stephen Clark

A Russian Progress cargo craft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean early Friday after spinning out of control following liftoff April 28 with supplies for the International Space Station.

Space-based airplane tracking demonstrated by ESA satellite

May 7, 2015 Stephen Clark

An experimental receiver aboard a European satellite has picked up signals from more than 15,000 aircraft in the last two years, paving the way for future missions that could track global commercial air traffic from space.

Photos: SpaceX’s passenger spaceship flies on first test run

May 7, 2015 Stephen Clark

It didn’t go into space, but SpaceX’s Dragon crew capsule fired off a launch pad at Cape Canaveral on Wednesday for a 99-second test flight to demonstrate a crucial safety mechanism that would save astronauts from a catastrophic rocket failure. View photos of the human-rated spacecraft’s first flight.

Out-of-control Progress cargo craft to fall back to Earth

May 6, 2015 Stephen Clark

A Russian space freighter that failed to deliver supplies to the International Space Station last week is due to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere as soon as Thursday.