News – Page 105 – Spaceflight Now

Japan’s flagship H3 rocket fails on first test flight

March 7, 2023 Stephen Clark

Japan’s first H3 rocket, designed to launch satellites and resupply space stations, fell back to Earth Monday after its second stage engine failed to ignite five minutes into an inaugural test flight, destroying the rocket and a three-ton Earth observation spacecraft.

Live coverage: Japan’s new H3 rocket fails to reach orbit

March 6, 2023 Stephen Clark

Japan’s new H3 rocket launched on its first test flight Monday at 8:37 p.m. EST (0137 GMT Tuesday), but faltered before reaching orbit when the second stage apparently failed to ignite about five minutes into the mission. The H3 rocket and Japan’s ALOS 3 land imaging satellite were destroyed in the failure.

Weather forecast favorable for Relativity’s first orbital launch attempt

March 6, 2023 Stephen Clark

Forecasters from the U.S. Space Force predict mostly sunny conditions at Cape Canaveral during a three-hour launch window Wednesday afternoon for the first flight of Relativity Space’s Terran 1 rocket.

Japan’s new H3 rocket ready for another launch attempt after last-second abort

March 5, 2023 Stephen Clark

After an electrical problem kept Japan’s first H3 rocket on the ground during a launch attempt last month, teams wheeled the new hydrogen-fueled launcher back to its firing stand for another countdown Monday to try to send an Earth observation satellite into orbit.

SpaceX launches Starlink satellites from California after delays

March 3, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket with 51 more Starlink internet satellites from California on Friday after a delay of several days to wait for liftoff of a higher-priority crew mission from Florida.

SpaceX capsule docks at space station with multinational crew

March 3, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Dragon Endeavour spacecraft linked up with the International Space Station Friday, delivering two NASA astronauts, an Emirati astronaut, and a Russian cosmonaut to the complex after a short delay for ground teams to uplink a software fix to mask a bad sensor on the capsule’s docking mechanism.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches Starlink mission from California

March 3, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched of a Falcon 9 rocket Friday at 10:38 a.m. PST (1:38 p.m. EST; 1838 GMT) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, lofting 51 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit.

SpaceX rocket boosts U.S.-Russian-Emirati crew into orbit

March 2, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Thursday from Kennedy Space Center with a four-man crew heading for a six-month stay on the International Space Station, including the first Arab astronaut to fly on a long-duration space mission.

Crew-6 mission timeline

March 1, 2023 Stephen Clark

This detailed mission timeline covers major vehicle and crew activities during the Crew-6 countdown, launch, and rendezvous with the International Space Station.

Live coverage: Four-man crew docks at International Space Station

March 1, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX and NASA launched the Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station at 12:34 a.m. EST (0534 GMT) Thursday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A Falcon 9 rocket blasted off with two NASA astronauts, an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates, and a Russian cosmonaut to begin a six-month expedition in orbit. Docking at the International Space Station occurred at 1:40 a.m. EST (0640 GMT) Friday.