Mission Reports
Mission Reports
Mission Reports
Atlas 5
Atlas 5
Cape Canaveral on the cusp of new records amid blistering launch rate
With two rockets from industry rivals United Launch Alliance and SpaceX ready for liftoff just 12 hours apart Thursday, the Cape Canaveral spaceport is poised to surpass the record for most missions in a year to fly into orbit from its launch pads. The launch day doubleheader would also mark the shortest span between two space launches from Florida’s Space Coast since 1967.
Atlas 5
Atlas 5
Mission Reports
Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches with NRO payload
Rocket Lab launched a mission for the National Reconnaissance Office at 1 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT) Thursday, following delays to update software on the payload and to wait for better weather. Rocket Lab’s Electron launcher lifted off from New Zealand with a small classified payload for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency.
Falcon 9
Mission Reports
Re-entry of large Chinese rocket booster spotted over Borneo
The 22-ton core stage of a Chinese rocket fell back to Earth Saturday, the third time in two years China has allowed such a large booster to re-enter the atmosphere uncontrolled. There were no immediate reports of wreckage or damage on the ground. Space debris experts said the unguided re-entry posed a low but avoidable risk to the world’s population.
Falcon 9
OneWeb to merge with Eutelsat, needs five more launches to complete network
OneWeb and Eutelsat announced plans to merge Tuesday, bringing together OneWeb’s network of internet satellites in low Earth orbit with Eutelsat’s fleet of larger video, data relay, and broadband platforms in geostationary orbit. OneWeb says it is on track to resume deploying its remaining internet satellites as soon as September, with three SpaceX flights and two Indian launches on tap to replace Russian Soyuz rockets no longer available after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.