News – Page 287 – Spaceflight Now

NASA prepares to shut down one of its ‘Great Observatories’

January 28, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA will say goodbye to the Spitzer Space Telescope this week after more than 16 years observing the most distant galaxies ever detected, planets orbiting other stars, and star-forming clouds of dust and gas.

Axiom wins NASA approval to attach commercial habitat to space station

January 28, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA has selected Axiom Space, a Houston-based startup partnering with Boeing and other aerospace contractors, to attach a commercial habitat to the International Space Station and begin constructing an orbiting complex that the company says could ultimately replace the international research outpost.

SpaceX scrubs Starlink launch due to winds aloft, will try again Wednesday

January 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX called off a scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 rocket about a half-hour before liftoff from Cape Canaveral Monday due to strong upper level winds, and officials aim to try again to send 60 Starlink Internet satellites into orbit Wednesday after bypassing a planned launch attempt Tuesday due to poor weather in the offshore booster recovery area.

Launch of Japanese spy satellite postponed by nitrogen leak

January 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

Japanese officials halted a countdown Monday at the Tanegashima Space Center when teams overseeing preparations for launch of an H-2A rocket detected a nitrogen gas leak, prompting the return of the launcher and its Japanese government payload to a nearby assembly building for repairs.

Timeline for Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites

January 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket with more Starlink satellites

January 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday at 9:06 a.m. EST (1406 GMT) from Cape Canaveral with 60 satellites for the company’s Starlink Internet network. Previous attempts to launch the mission were stymied by strong upper level winds and rough seas in the Falcon 9’s downrange recovery area northeast of Cape Canaveral.

Bipartisan House bill spurns 2024 moon landing goal, favoring focus on Mars

January 26, 2020 Stephen Clark

A NASA authorization bill released by the House Science Committee Friday proposes major changes to the direction of the agency’s human spaceflight programs, with a goal to land crews on the moon by 2028, not the 2024 schedule set by the Trump administration.

Solar Orbiter launch delayed to Feb. 7

January 26, 2020 Stephen Clark

Officials have delayed the launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket with the European-built Solar Orbiter spacecraft from Cape Canaveral by two days to Feb. 7, a ripple effect from time spent fixing a minor issue last week during a launch vehicle countdown dress rehearsal.

SpaceX wins contract to launch Egyptian communications satellite

January 25, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX and the Egyptian satellite operator Nilesat have signed a contract to launch the Nilesat 301 communications craft on a Falcon 9 rocket in 2022, SpaceX confirmed this week.

Astronauts finish repairs to space station cosmic ray detector

January 25, 2020 William Harwood

During a fourth spacewalk Saturday to wrap up repairs of the coolant system in a $2 billion cosmic ray detector, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Drew Morgan discovered a leak in one of eight coolant lines that were spliced into a new pump module during three earlier excursions. But Parmitano was able to tighten a fitting on the line and the astronauts were able to complete the repair work, setting the stage for the instrument to resume science operations.