News

Astra launches first successful mission with operational satellites

March 15, 2022 Stephen Clark

Astra’s small satellite launcher returned to flight Tuesday and delivered an unspecified number of small satellites into orbit after a successful liftoff from Alaska, helping clear the way for a series of three launches for NASA in the coming months at Cape Canaveral.

Astronauts prep for new solar arrays on nearly seven-hour spacewalk

March 15, 2022 Stephen Clark

Astronauts Kayla Barron and Raja Chari floated out of the International Space Station airlock for a spacewalk Tuesday, installing brackets and struts to support new solar arrays to upgrade the research lab’s power system on the same day that crewmate Mark Vande Hei marked his 341st day in orbit, a U.S. record for a single spaceflight.

NASA: Space station operations continue smoothly despite Ukraine invasion

March 14, 2022 William Harwood

Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and worsening relations, joint operation of the International Space Station continues normally with plans in place to bring NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei back to Earth as planned aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft at the end of the month, a senior NASA manager said Monday.

OneWeb not eager to tear up launch contract with Arianespace

March 14, 2022 Stephen Clark

OneWeb working with Arianespace, who owes the satellite internet firm six more Soyuz launches, to find a ride to orbit for more than 200 of its spacecraft left grounded by an embargo on Western payloads flying aboard Russian rockets. But with launch capacity constrained outside of China and SpaceX, a major OneWeb competitor, the commercial satellite internet provider is facing an inevitable delay in completing its constellation.

Astra scrubs return-to-flight launch from Alaska

March 14, 2022 Stephen Clark

Astra engineers identified two problems — an electrical design issue and a software glitch — that prevented a rocket from reaching orbit last month with a suite of NASA-sponsored CubeSats, clearing the way for a return-to-flight mission that could launch from Alaska this week. A launch attempt Monday was scrubbed due to bad weather.

Boeing Starliner test flight next on ULA’s launch schedule

March 11, 2022 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Space Force has postponed a multi-spacecraft mission that was booked to fly on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket in April, moving a redo of a test flight for Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule to the front of the line on ULA’s launch schedule.

GOES-T weather satellite resumes orbit-raising after minor snag

March 10, 2022 Stephen Clark

A new NOAA weather satellite that launched from Cape Canaveral last week has resumed orbit-raising after the spacecraft aborted its first major post-launch maneuver, moving toward its operational geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator.