Mission Reports – Spaceflight Now

January 19, 2020

Breaking News

[ January 18, 2020 ] Photos: Ariane 5’s fiery climb to space from French Guiana Ariane 5
[ January 18, 2020 ] NASA expected to detail costs for fast-track moon landing program next month Mission Reports
[ January 18, 2020 ] SpaceX will trigger an intentional rocket failure to prove crew capsule’s safety Mission Reports
[ January 17, 2020 ] Pending test outcomes, NASA says SpaceX could launch astronauts in early March Falcon 9
[ January 17, 2020 ] Live coverage: SpaceX successfully performs Crew Dragon abort test Falcon 9

Photos: Ariane 5’s fiery climb to space from French Guiana

January 18, 2020

A European Ariane 5 rocket fired into a gloomy sky Thursday over French Guiana and streaked into space from the tropical launch base with 2.9 million pounds of thrust from two solid rocket boosters and a hydrogen-fueled Vulcain 2 main engine.

NASA expected to detail costs for fast-track moon landing program next month

January 18, 2020

NASA will release a budget profile with a cost estimate for the agency’s Artemis moon program in February in conjunction with the White House’s fiscal year 2021 budget request, according to NASA’s deputy administrator.

SpaceX will trigger an intentional rocket failure to prove crew capsule’s safety

January 18, 2020

SpaceX will sacrifice a Falcon 9 rocket Sunday in a fiery test a minute-and-a-half after liftoff from Florida’s Space Coast to prove the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft can safely push astronauts away from a failing launch vehicle, simulating a daring maneuver that would only be attempted on a piloted mission during an in-flight emergency.

Pending test outcomes, NASA says SpaceX could launch astronauts in early March

January 17, 2020

A NASA official said Friday that SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft could be ready to ferry astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station as soon as early March, pending the results from a major demonstration of the ship’s launch abort system this weekend, a pair of parachute drop tests, and space station crew schedules.

Live coverage: SpaceX successfully performs Crew Dragon abort test

January 17, 2020

SpaceX launched an unpiloted Crew Dragon spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT) Sunday. SpaceX triggered an escape maneuver using the Dragon’s thrusters about a minute-and-a-half after liftoff to verify the launch abort engines can safely carry the capsule — and astronauts on future missions — away from a failing rocket.

Arianespace opens busy year with successful Ariane 5 launch

January 16, 2020

The first of up to 22 launches on Arianespace’s schedule in 2020 successfully delivered a commercial European broadband satellite and an Indian communications payload to orbit Thursday using a heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket.

SpaceX abort test serves as practice run for astronauts, rescue teams

January 16, 2020

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule were raised vertical at launch pad 39A in Florida late Thursday, setting the stage for a launch day dress rehearsal Friday with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken — the veteran space fliers assigned to the Crew Dragon’s first piloted mission later this year — before a critical in-flight test of the ship’s emergency escape system Saturday.

Photos: Ariane 5 rocket rolled out for first launch of 2020

January 16, 2020

A nearly 180-foot-tall (54.8-meter) Ariane 5 rocket rolled out of its integration hangar to the ELA-3 launch zone Wednesday at the Guiana Space Center in South America, moving into position for liftoff Thursday with two geostationary communications satellites.

Live coverage: Ariane 5 launches telecom satellites for Eutelsat, ISRO

January 16, 2020

Arianespace’s first launch of 2020 lifted off at 4:05 p.m. EST (2105 GMT; 6:05 p.m. French Guiana time) Thursday from the Guiana Space Center on the northeastern shore of South America. An Ariane 5 rocket launched the Eutelsat Konnect and GSAT 30 communications satellite for Eutelsat and the Indian Space Research Organization.

Kuaizhou 1A rocket lofts Chinese broadband test satellite

January 16, 2020

A solid-fueled Kuaizhou 1A launcher carried a commercial broadband communications satellite into orbit Thursday for Galaxy Space, a Chinese company that says it plans to launch up to 144 spacecraft for a space-based 5G network in the next few years.

1 2 3 … 255 »