News – Spaceflight Now

May 26, 2018

Breaking News

[ May 25, 2018 ] New helium tank for SpaceX crew launches still waiting to fly Falcon 9
[ May 25, 2018 ] SpaceX test-fires previously-flown rocket for May 31 launch Falcon 9
[ May 25, 2018 ] Video: Falcon 9 rocket ignites for hold-down test at Cape Canaveral Falcon 9
[ May 24, 2018 ] Cygnus arrives at station with CubeSats, quantum physics experiment Antares
[ May 24, 2018 ] Photos: Blues skies make for spectacular Falcon 9 launch in California Falcon 9

New helium tank for SpaceX crew launches still waiting to fly

May 25, 2018

SpaceX is still working on a new, safer helium tank design needed for launches with astronauts, and the debut of the company’s upgraded Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket earlier this month did count as one of seven successful missions in “crew configuration” NASA says it requires before putting astronauts aboard the vehicle, officials said Thursday.

SpaceX test-fires previously-flown rocket for May 31 launch

May 25, 2018

The nine Merlin main engines at the base of a recycled Falcon 9 rocket booster ignited Thursday night for several seconds during a pre-flight test-firing on a Cape Canaveral launch pad, clearing a major hurdle ahead of a scheduled May 31 liftoff with a high-power communications satellite for SES.

Video: Falcon 9 rocket ignites for hold-down test at Cape Canaveral

May 25, 2018

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket ignited its main engines at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad Thursday night, clearing a major hurdle before liftoff May 31 with the SES 12 communications satellite.

Cygnus arrives at station with CubeSats, quantum physics experiment

May 24, 2018

Closing out a three-day chase from a launch pad in Virginia, Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo freighter arrived Thursday at the International Space Station with nearly 7,400 pounds of equipment, delivering food, a quantum physics experiment, and CubeSats for later deployment in orbit.

Photos: Blues skies make for spectacular Falcon 9 launch in California

May 24, 2018

A threatening layer of clouds stayed away from SpaceX’s launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Tuesday, allowing for clear viewing of a spectacular Falcon 9 launch carrying commercial and scientific satellites into polar orbit.

Photos: Antares rocket’s predawn launch from Wallops Island

May 24, 2018

Carrying a Cygnus supply ship bound for the International Space Station, an Orbital ATK Antares rocket lifted off Monday from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia.

Live coverage: SpaceX conducts static fire at Cape Canaveral ahead of next launch

May 24, 2018

SpaceX conducted a hold-down firing Thursday of a previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket booster at Cape Canaveral, ahead of a scheduled May 31 liftoff with an all-electric commercial communications satellite for SES.

NOAA’s new GOES-17 weather satellite has degraded vision at night

May 23, 2018

Engineers are studying a malfunction with the main imaging instrument on NOAA’s GOES-17 weather satellite, launched March 1, that could limit the observatory’s ability to monitor storms, winds and other weather phenomena at night, officials said Wednesday.

Rideshare launch by SpaceX serves commercial and scientific customers

May 22, 2018

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket powered by a reused first stage climbed into orbit Tuesday from California’s Central Coast, carrying five satellites to upgrade Iridium’s global messaging service and two research craft to study Earth’s water cycle.

Video: Falcon 9 lifts off with Iridium and GRACE-Follow On satellites

May 22, 2018

SpaceX’s tenth launch of the year took off Tuesday from California’s Central Coast on a unique ridehsare mission to add satellites to Iridium’s communications network and replace two Earth science satellites which ended their observations last year.

1 2 3 … 307 »