News – Page 472 – Spaceflight Now

Photos: Falcon 9 rocket makes evening ascent from pad 39A

July 10, 2017 Stephen Clark

Look back on last week’s liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, capping a busy two weeks for the launch company with a successful satellite deployment flight for Intelsat.

JAXA, NASA approve replacement for failed Hitomi astronomy satellite

July 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

The Japanese space agency is moving ahead with a smaller-scale X-ray astronomy satellite to replace the failed Hitomi observatory, which spun out of control about a month-and-a-half after its launch last year.

Pence vows to renew American space leadership

July 6, 2017 William Harwood

Vice President Mike Pence, chairman of the recently re-established National Space Council, toured the Kennedy Space Center Thursday and vowed to renew American leadership on the high frontier, telling spaceport workers “our nation will return to the moon, and we will put American boots on the face of Mars.”

SpaceX delivers for Intelsat on heavyweight Falcon 9 mission

July 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rumbled into the sky Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, flexing the rocket’s muscles and lofting a massive Intelsat satellite to orbit supporting wireless communications, television broadcasting and trans-Atlantic data relays.

Video replay of the Falcon 9 rocket’s liftoff with Intelsat 35e

July 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

Launching its 10th mission this year, SpaceX delivered an Intelsat communications satellite to a high-altitude transfer orbit Wednesday with a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Video: Press site view of the Falcon 9’s launch with Intelsat 35e

July 5, 2017 Stephen Clark

Watch a view of the Falcon 9 rocket’s liftoff Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center as seen from the press site around three miles from the launch pad.

NASA marks 20 years of continuous Mars exploration

July 4, 2017 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Mars Pathfinder probe dropped to the surface of Mars for an airbag-cushioned landing 20 years ago Tuesday, bouncing 15 times across an ancient flood plain before deploying a mobile robot to usher in two decades of uninterrupted Martian exploration.

Launch of Falcon 9 rocket scrubbed second day in a row

July 4, 2017 Stephen Clark

For the second day running, computers automatically aborted a Falcon 9 launch countdown Monday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the final seconds before liftoff with the Intelsat 35e communications satellite.

Dragon capsule returns home with animals and station equipment

July 3, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Dragon spaceship, carrying more than 4,100 pounds of cargo and research specimens, descended to a predawn splashdown Monday in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Los Angeles, completing the first re-flight of one of SpaceX’s unpiloted supply ships to the International Space Station.

Live coverage: SpaceX’s Dragon supply ship ends month-long mission

July 3, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Dragon supply ship owned and operated by SpaceX departed the International Space Station early Monday and returned to Earth for a predawn splashdown in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Los Angeles with scientific specimens and other equipment. Astronaut Jack Fischer released the Dragon cargo capsule from the station’s robotic arm at 2:41 a.m. EDT (0641 GMT), and splashdown occurred around 8:12 a.m. EDT (1212 GMT).