News – Spaceflight Now

October 18, 2019

Breaking News

[ October 18, 2019 ] Koch, Meir begin first all-female spacewalk Mission Reports
[ October 17, 2019 ] Dream Chaser structure arrives at factory for outfitting News
[ October 17, 2019 ] Rocket Lab delivers on dedicated launch for Astro Digital Mission Reports
[ October 16, 2019 ] Egyptian satellite, ESA science probe share plane ride to launch base Ariane 5
[ October 16, 2019 ] Hubble observes interstellar visitor News

Koch, Meir begin first all-female spacewalk

October 18, 2019

Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir, soaring 260 miles above a wave of public interest, suited up for history’s first all-female spacewalk Friday, the first two-woman “EVA” in the 54 years since a Russian cosmonaut carried out the first stroll in space just to prove it could be done — and to beat NASA to the punch.

Dream Chaser structure arrives at factory for outfitting

October 17, 2019

The composite structure of Sierra Nevada Corp.’s first space-rated Dream Chaser space plane has arrived at the company’s Colorado factory for integration with computers, a heat shield and mechanical systems before launch to the International Space Station in late 2021.

Rocket Lab delivers on dedicated launch for Astro Digital

October 17, 2019

A technology demonstration microsatellite for Astro Digital rode a Rocket Lab Electron launcher into orbit Wednesday (U.S. time) from New Zealand, setting the stage for the debut of new systems on the next Electron flight as engineers move closer to retrieving and reusing the rocket’s first stage.

Egyptian satellite, ESA science probe share plane ride to launch base

October 16, 2019

A European-built communications satellite, manufactured in secret for the Egyptian government, joined a European Space Agency exoplanet observatory aboard a Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo plane for a trans-Atlantic flight Wednesday to begin final launch preparations in French Guiana.

Hubble observes interstellar visitor

October 16, 2019

The Hubble Space Telescope has returned an image of a comet that originated outside our solar system, providing astronomers with their best view yet of an interstellar visitor at a distance of 260 million miles from Earth.

NASA names new chief of human space operations

October 16, 2019

Douglas Loverro, a veteran manager with broad experience in national security space operations, has been selected by NASA to lead the agency’s human space flight programs. He takes over at a critical moment as the agency assesses the readiness of new commercial crew ships amid a full-court press to land astronauts on the moon in 2024.

Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches for fifth time this year

October 16, 2019

An experimental microsatellite built and owned by Astro Digital, a California-based company, rode Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket into orbit at 9:22 p.m. EDT Wednesday (0122 GMT Thursday) from New Zealand.

Documents suggest SpaceX may launch 30,000 more Starlink satellites

October 15, 2019

SpaceX is seeking approval to add up to 30,000 more satellites to its Starlink broadband network, on top of 12,000 spacecraft already authorized by U.S. government regulators, according to filings submitted to the International Telecommunication Union.

Japanese satellite re-enters atmosphere after experiments in ultra-low orbit

October 15, 2019

An experimental Japanese satellite has ended its mission after proving it could operate at super-low altitudes, testing an Earth-imaging camera and using ion propulsion to fight against aerodynamic drag at an altitude of 112 miles.

All-female spacewalk on tap this week

October 15, 2019

Two NASA astronauts will take part in the first all-female spacewalk this week, a critical outing to restore lost power in the wake of an equipment failure that cropped up after new batteries were installed in the International Space Station’s solar power system during two earlier spacewalks.

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