News – Page 307 – Spaceflight Now

September 20, 2025

Breaking News

[ September 17, 2025 ] SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Falcon 9
[ September 16, 2025 ] NASA, Northrop Grumman postpone Cygnus XL arrival to ISS following propulsion issue Mission Reports
[ September 16, 2025 ] SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites from California following back-to-back weather scrubs Falcon 9
[ September 15, 2025 ] Northrop Grumman’s 1st Cygnus XL spacecraft launches on cargo run to the space station Falcon 9
[ September 14, 2025 ] Launch preview: SpaceX to launch new, improved Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL resupply ship to the space station Falcon 9

Solid rocket motor test-fired for Atlas 5 debut next year

October 20, 2019 Stephen Clark

A new solid rocket motor built by Northrop Grumman has aced its final test-firing before a scheduled debut on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket flight next year.

NASA’s resilient Van Allen Probes shut down

October 20, 2019 Stephen Clark

Ground controllers transmitted commands to shut down the second of NASA’s Van Allen Probes on Friday, three months after turning off an identical satellite to conclude a seven-year mission that explored the donut-shaped radiation belts surrounding Earth.

China launches mysterious geostationary satellite

October 18, 2019 Stephen Clark

China successfully launched a satellite toward geostationary orbit Thursday aboard a Long March 3B rocket, but the spacecraft’s purpose remained a mystery.

Lawmakers question NASA’s plan for a 2024 moon landing

October 18, 2019 Stephen Clark

Amid questions from lawmakers about the cost of the Trump administration’s proposal to accelerate a human return to the moon’s surface to 2024, the chairman of the House subcommittee responsible for helping write NASA’s budget said this week he favors keeping to the space agency’s earlier schedule for a crewed lunar landing by 2028.

Koch, Meir conclude first all-female spacewalk

October 18, 2019 William Harwood

Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir carried out history’s first all-female spacewalk Friday, floating outside the International Space Station and successfully installing a 230-pound replacement battery charger in the lab’s solar power system. The historic excursion was carried out in a blaze of public interest that rose all the way to the White House.

Dream Chaser structure arrives at factory for outfitting

October 17, 2019 Stephen Clark

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 Stephen Clark

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 Stephen Clark

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 Stephen Clark

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 William Harwood

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.