Mission Reports – Page 133

SpaceX ready to launch Italian radar remote sensing satellite

January 26, 2022 Stephen Clark

SpaceX plans to launch an Italian Earth observation satellite with radar vision Thursday evening from Cape Canaveral on a twilight flight that could dazzle spectators with the ascent and descent of the reusable Falcon 9 booster.

NASA to name astronauts this year for first Artemis moon mission

January 26, 2022 Stephen Clark

NASA will announce later this year the four astronauts who will slingshot around the far side of the moon on the Artemis lunar program’s first crew mission, currently scheduled for launch in 2024, the head of the agency’s human space exploration division recently said. The crew is expected to include three U.S. fliers and one Canadian astronaut.

Photos: Atlas 5 rocket flies on ULA’s first mission of 2022

January 25, 2022 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket took off Jan. 21 from Cape Canaveral, climbing off of launch pad 41 with thrust from its Russian-made RD-180 main engine and a single Northrop Grumman solid rocket booster to carry two U.S. military satellites into orbit.

Webb reaches orbital destination a million miles from Earth

January 24, 2022 William Harwood

The James Webb Space Telescope slipped into orbit around a point in space nearly a million miles from Earth Monday where it can capture light from the first stars and galaxies to form in the aftermath of the Big Bang.

Cargo Dragon capsule departs space station

January 23, 2022 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon spacecraft, closing out a month-long mission, undocked from the International Space Station Sunday after a two-delay in its departure to wait for better weather in the capsule’s recovery zone off the coast of Florida. Splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico is scheduled for Monday.

Astra fires up rocket for first time at Cape Canaveral

January 22, 2022 Stephen Clark

Astra, a company seeking to carve out a segment of the growing small satellite launch market, test-fired its two-stage rocket at Cape Canaveral on Saturday in preparation for an upcoming demonstration flight for NASA.

Webb closes in on destination with critical mirror alignment on tap

January 22, 2022 William Harwood

Thirty days outbound from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope will slip into its parking orbit a million miles away Monday, an ideal spot to scan the heavens in search of faint infrared light from the first generation of stars and galaxies.

Atlas 5 rocket delivers two military inspector satellites to high-altitude orbit

January 21, 2022 Stephen Clark

Two satellites for a once-classified U.S. military program to track and inspect other spacecraft in orbit — a mission the Space Force’s top general equates to a “neighborhood watch” — lifted off from Cape Canaveral Friday on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

Science mission begins for NASA’s new eye on the X-ray universe

January 21, 2022 Stephen Clark

A NASA astronomy satellite that launched Dec. 9 from Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX rocket has started observing the X-ray universe, beginning a mission to study the nature of black holes and the super-dense skeletons left behind by exploded stars.

Live coverage: Atlas 5 rocket launches from Cape Canaveral

January 21, 2022 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance’s first mission of the year debuted a new configuration of the company’s workhorse Atlas 5 rocket when it lifted off at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) Friday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The rocket, featuring a wide fairing and a single solid rocket booster, is carrying two U.S. military tracking and inspection satellites into geosynchronous orbit during a nearly seven-hour flight sequence.