News – Page 335 – Spaceflight Now

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.

Live coverage: Delta 4 rocket lifts off with GPS satellite

August 22, 2019 Stephen Clark

The last flight of the single-core variant of United Launch Alliance’s Delta 4 rocket lifted off at 9:06 a.m. EDT (1306 GMT) Thursday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The 207-foot-tall launcher carried a GPS navigation satellite into orbit for the U.S. Air Force.

ULA’s last Delta 4-Medium rocket set for launch Thursday

August 22, 2019 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance is set to retire part of its rocket family Thursday with the final flight of the Delta 4 rocket’s “single stick” configuration, a mission set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral carrying a new GPS navigation satellite into orbit for the U.S. Air Force.

Live coverage: Soyuz MS-14 docks at space station

August 22, 2019 Stephen Clark

The unpiloted Russian Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft docked with the International Space Station on its second try at 11:08 p.m. EDT Monday (0308 GMT Tuesday), three days after aborting an approach due to a problem with the Kurs automated rendezvous system.