Mission Reports
Investigators conclude external forces killed an Intelsat satellite in April
Investigators probing the sudden failure of the Boeing-built Intelsat 29e geostationary relay station in April have concluded an electrostatic discharge, aggravated by a harness flaw on the spacecraft, or a micrometeoroid strike prematurely ended the satellite’s mission, resulting in a $382 million hit to Intelsat’s quarterly financial report.
Soyuz booster rolls out to launch pad with space station refueling freighter
Packed with nearly 3 tons of rocket fuel, water, oxygen and crew provisions, the Russian Progress MS-12 supply ship and its Soyuz booster arrived at a launch pad Sunday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, moving a step closer to liftoff Wednesday on a fast-track three-hour flight to the International Space Station.
NASA opts to go ahead with full-duration SLS core stage test-firing
After considering canceling a planned full-duration test-firing of the Space Launch System’s core stage in Mississippi ahead of the heavy-lift rocket’s first flight, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced this week that the agency will press ahead with the test next year, citing safety and reliability benefits for future astronauts riding on the launcher on missions to the moon.