A2100 – Spaceflight Now

Air Force sees upcoming Falcon Heavy launches as key to certifying reused rockets

March 14, 2019

SpaceX is gearing up for the first commercial launch of its powerful Falcon Heavy rocket as soon as early April with a communications satellite for Arabsat, and the U.S. Air Force hopes the two side boosters from the Arabsat mission can be safely landed and reused for the military’s first Falcon Heavy mission this summer, an exercise officials said will help certify previously-flown hardware for future national security launches.

Watch a spectacular slow-motion replay of last week’s Ariane 5 launch

February 11, 2019

Arianespace and CNES, the French space agency, have released sensational slow-motion video from shielded engineering cameras at the Ariane 5 rocket’s launch pad in French Guiana, showing the launcher’s fiery evening takeoff Feb. 5 with communications satellites for Saudi Arabia and India.

Arianespace opens busy 2019 manifest with dual-satellite Ariane 5 launch

February 5, 2019

Two communications satellites owned by Saudi Arabian and Indian operators rocketed into orbit Tuesday on top of a European Ariane 5 rocket, the first of up to 13 launches planned from French Guiana this year.

Live coverage: Ariane 5 launches satellites for Saudi Arabia and India

February 5, 2019

An Ariane 5 rocket launched Tuesday at 2101 GMT (4:01 p.m. EST) from French Guiana with a communications satellite to provide broadband and television services for the government of Saudi Arabia and commercial clients across Europe and the Middle East, and an Indian payload to help bridge the digital divide in South Asia.

Arianespace preps for first of up to 13 launches in French Guiana this year

February 4, 2019

A European Ariane 5 rocket is scheduled for blastoff Tuesday from a jungle launch pad in South America with two geostationary telecom payloads — one owned by a Saudi Arabian operator and built in Colorado by Lockheed Martin, and another for India’s space agency.

SpaceX closes out year with successful GPS satellite launch

December 23, 2018

A new era in GPS navigation launched Sunday, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket climbed into orbit with a Lockheed Martin-built satellite designed to beam higher-power positioning, navigation and timing signals around the world, providing military and civilian users with more accurate data that is more resistant to growing jamming threats.

Falcon 9 launch timeline with the GPS 3 SV01 navigation satellite

December 18, 2018

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Thursday carrying the U.S. Air Force’s first GPS 3-series navigation satellite destined for an orbit more than 12,000 miles above Earth.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches GPS navigation satellite for U.S. Air Force

December 18, 2018

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket at 8:51 a.m. EST (1351 GMT) Sunday from Cape Canaveral with the first in a new line of upgraded U.S. Air Force GPS navigation satellites. The launch was delayed five days due to technical and weather concerns.

Air Force requirements will keep SpaceX from landing Falcon 9 booster after GPS launch

December 17, 2018

The demands of launching the first in an upgraded line of U.S. Air Force GPS navigation satellites, including a late load of extra fuel for the spacecraft and a military policy of reserving fuel to eliminate space junk, will keep SpaceX from recovering the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket following liftoff Thursday from Cape Canaveral, according to mission managers.

NOAA’s new GOES-17 weather satellite has degraded vision at night

May 23, 2018

Engineers are studying a malfunction with the main imaging instrument on NOAA’s GOES-17 weather satellite, launched March 1, that could limit the observatory’s ability to monitor storms, winds and other weather phenomena at night, officials said Wednesday.