News – Page 105 – Spaceflight Now

Failure of Japan’s Epsilon rocket blamed on attitude control system

October 18, 2022 Stephen Clark

Engineers investigating the Oct. 12 launch failure of a Japanese Epsilon rocket have traced the problem to the attitude control system on the second stage, Japan’s space agency said Tuesday.

SpaceX launches European TV broadcasting satellite

October 15, 2022 Stephen Clark

An Airbus-built communications satellite rocketed into orbit early Saturday from Cape Canaveral on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher, bound for a high-altitude perch in geostationary orbit to beam hundreds of TV and radio channels to Eutelsat customers across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

SpaceX Crew Dragon returns to Earth with on-target splashdown

October 14, 2022 William Harwood

Three NASA astronauts and a European flier boarded their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, undocked from the International Space Station and plunged back to Earth Friday, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean east of Jacksonville to close out a 170-day mission.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches Eutelsat TV broadcasting satellite

October 14, 2022 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off 1:22 a.m. EDT (0522 GMT) Saturday with Eutelsat’s Hotbird 13F television broadcasting satellite. The marked the 100th launch by SpaceX from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

SpaceX launch to deploy first in new generation of Airbus-built satellites

October 14, 2022 Stephen Clark

The first in a new line of Airbus-built communications satellites is stowed for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Friday night from Cape Canaveral, ready for a mission to beam hundreds of TV channels to Eutelsat customers across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

Live coverage: Crew-4 astronauts depart space station, return to Earth

October 14, 2022 Stephen Clark

Three NASA astronauts and the outgoing European commander of the International Space Station departed the orbiting complex and headed for Earth on Friday aboard SpaceX’s Dragon Freedom spacecraft. Undocking from the space station occurred at 12:05 p.m. EDT (1605 GMT). A parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, followed nearly five hours later 4:55 p.m. EDT (2055 GMT).

NASA targets Nov. 14 for next Artemis launch attempt

October 13, 2022 Stephen Clark

The next launch attempt for the NASA’s Artemis 1 moon rocket is scheduled just after midnight Nov. 14 after a hydrogen leak and Hurricane Ian thwarted tries to launch the unpiloted test flight to the moon in August and September, space agency officials announced this week.

NASA, SpaceX delay crew capsule return to wait for better weather

October 12, 2022 Stephen Clark

Four astronauts are preparing to ride a SpaceX Dragon crew capsule from the International Space Station back to Earth this week to close out a nearly six-month expedition, targeting splashdown off the coast of Florida. NASA and SpaceX officials waved off return opportunities Wednesday and Thursday due to unfavorable weather in the splashdown zones.

Dennis Tito, first space tourist, books trip around the moon on SpaceX’s Starship

October 12, 2022 William Harwood

Dennis Tito, an 82-year-old aerospace engineer-turned-financial analyst who paid Russia $20 million for a trip to the International Space Station in 2001, is working with SpaceX on plans to take his wife on what amounts to a belated honeymoon voyage to the moon.

NASA confirms DART probe impact changed asteroid’s orbit

October 11, 2022 William Harwood

The deliberate 14,000-mph crash of a small NASA probe into the asteroid Dimorphos two weeks ago nudged the 525-foot-wide body onto a slightly different course, NASA confirmed Tuesday, shaving 32 minutes off the time needed to complete one orbit around a parent asteroid known as Didymos.