Astrophysics – Spaceflight Now

James Webb, OneWeb highlight Arianespace’s 2021 launch schedule

January 11, 2021

The planned Halloween launch of the James Webb Space Telescope — one of eight Ariane 5 launches left before the rocket’s retirement — and a series of flights to build out OneWeb’s satellite internet network highlight Arianespace’s schedule this year.

China launches two small satellites for gravitational wave research

December 10, 2020

Two small Chinese satellites designed to detect gamma-ray bursts associated with gravitational waves launched Wednesday on a Long March 11 rocket, beginning an astrophysics research mission to study black holes and neutron stars.

Arecibo Observatory collapses as scientists lament loss of deep space radar

December 1, 2020

The 900-ton suspended platform of Puerto Rico’s famed Arecibo Observatory collapsed Tuesday after cable failures, crashing into the radio telescope’s iconic dish and shattering a research instrument used to study pulsars, galaxies, planets, and asteroids that might threaten Earth.

Arecibo Observatory faces demolition after cable failures

November 19, 2020

After withstanding hurricanes and earthquakes, playing central roles in movies like “GoldenEye” and “Contact,” Puerto Rico’s famed Arecibo Observatory, once the largest radio telescope in the world, will be demolished because of cable failures that left its huge detector platform too unstable to attempt repairs.

Water molecules detected on moon’s sunlit surface, adding impetus to Artemis

October 26, 2020

Water molecules have been directly detected across sunlit regions of the moon, not just in ultra-cold, permanently shadowed polar craters, scientists announced Monday, indicating the precious resource may be more easily accessible to future astronauts than previously thought.

JWST completes tests to simulate rigors of launch

October 7, 2020

The fully-assembled James Webb Space Telescope has completed testing in Southern California to verify the $10 billion mission can withstand the sound and shaking it will see during launch scheduled late next year on a European Ariane 5 rocket.

NASA announces seven-month launch delay for JWST

July 16, 2020

NASA officials said Thursday the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope will be delayed seven months to Oct. 31, 2021, a schedule slip that takes into account work slowdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the amount of testing required on the observatory before its shipment to French Guiana for liftoff on a European Ariane 5 rocket.

Coronavirus work stoppage likely to delay launch of NASA X-ray astronomy mission

July 2, 2020

A nearly three-month stoppage of on-site work due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus at NASA’s Marshall Space Fight Center in Alabama is expected to push back the launch of the IXPE X-ray astronomy satellite from May 2021 until some time later next year, a senior space agency official said.

NASA says JWST won’t be ready for launch in March 2021

June 16, 2020

The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope will not happen in March 2021 — the mission’s previously-scheduled launch date — after the coronavirus pandemic forced a more than 50 percent reduction in staff levels at the observatory’s assembly and test facility.

SpaceX to debut satellite-dimming sunshade on Starlink launch next month

April 28, 2020

A new sunshade, or visor, designed to reduce the brightness of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband Internet satellites will debut on the company’s next launch, a measure intended to alleviate astronomers’ concerns about impacts on observations through ground-based telescopes, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Monday.