News – Page 319 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX aborts Starhopper test flight, could try again Tuesday

August 26, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX aborted an attempted flight Monday of the company’s Starhopper test rocket, a prototype for the company’s next-generation Starship vehicle. The hop test was to fly to a height of around 500 feet (150 meters) over SpaceX’s launch site at Boca Chica, Texas.

Photos: ULA’s Delta 4-Medium flies for the last time

August 26, 2019 Stephen Clark

The last flight of United Launch Alliance’s Delta 4-Medium rocket lifted off Aug. 22 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, riding more than 1.2 million pounds of thrust from a hydrogen-fueled main engine and two strap-on solid rocket motors.

Soyuz capsule swaps docking ports on space station, clearing way for new arrival

August 26, 2019 Stephen Clark

Flying by hand, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov undocked his Soyuz space capsule from the International Space Station late Sunday (U.S. time) and maneuvered the ship to a new parking spot on the million-pound research complex, clearing the way for the arrival of a new Soyuz spacecraft Monday night after aborting its first approach.

Boeing, SpaceX aim for more commercial crew test flights this fall

August 26, 2019 Stephen Clark

Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule could take off in October on its first unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station, a company official said recently, while SpaceX finishes up the investigation into the explosion of its Crew Dragon spacecraft during a ground test earlier this year.

Station crew to clear new port for second Soyuz docking attempt

August 24, 2019 Stephen Clark

Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, joined by Italian flight engineer Luca Parmitano and NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan, plans to relocate his Soyuz spacecraft to a new docking port on the International Space Station late Sunday (U.S. time), clearing a spot for the unpiloted Soyuz MS-14 spaceship to attempt another automated approach to the complex Monday after aborting its first rendezvous, Russian officials said.

Soyuz docking aborted at International Space Station

August 24, 2019 Stephen Clark

Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station commanded an approaching unpiloted Soyuz spacecraft to abort its docking Saturday after the ship’s automated rendezvous system ran into trouble, leaving ground teams assessing what went wrong and whether to attempt another link-up in orbit.

Five more Delta 4-Heavy flights in ULA backlog after final “single stick” launch

August 22, 2019 Stephen Clark

The last Delta 4 launcher to fly in a single-core configuration rumbled into space Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral with a GPS navigation satellite, leaving United Launch Alliance with five more Delta 4-Heavy missions on contract through late 2023 before the Delta rocket family retires from service.

Photos: Final “single stick” Delta 4 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral

August 22, 2019 Stephen Clark

The last Delta 4-Medium rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Thursday with a GPS navigation satellite for the U.S. Air Force.

Delta 4 rocket’s launch timeline with GPS 3 SV02

August 22, 2019 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will deliver the U.S. Air Force’s second GPS 3-series navigation satellite into an elliptical transfer orbit nearly two hours after liftoff from Cape Canaveral.

Robot-carrying capsule launches on test flight to space station

August 22, 2019 Stephen Clark

With a robot rather than a cosmonaut in the commander’s seat, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft rocketed into orbit from Kazakhstan late Wednesday (U.S. time) en route to the International Space Station on a critical test flight before crews begin riding an upgraded Soyuz booster next year.