Centaur – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

Plutonium power source installed on NASA’s next Mars rover

July 22, 2020

The nuclear power generator for NASA’s Perseverance rover has been installed on the spacecraft atop an Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral, and mission managers gave a green light Wednesday to continue preparations for the rover’s July 30 launch toward Mars.

Five years after New Horizons flyby, scientists assess next mission to Pluto

July 14, 2020

Five years ago Tuesday, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft barreled by Pluto for a high-speed encounter that gave humanity its first close-up look at a distant world that puzzled astronomers and planetary scientists for nearly a century. Scientists are now planning how to go back.

Photos: Mars rover encapsulated for launch, mated with Atlas 5 rocket

July 10, 2020

NASA’s Perseverance rover, contained inside its aeroshell for a searing plunge into the Martian atmosphere next year, has been cocooned inside the payload shroud of its Atlas 5 launcher and mated with the rocket ahead of liftoff from Cape Canaveral scheduled for July 30.

Mars rover mated with Atlas 5 launcher after teams deal with coronavirus cases

July 9, 2020

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has been hoisted on top of its United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral for liftoff this month, passing a major pre-launch milestone after teams repaired a small leak on the launch vehicle and overcame delays caused by coronavirus cases among staff working on the mission.

NASA delays Mars rover launch to no earlier than July 30

June 30, 2020

A technical issue with the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket that will send NASA’s $2.4 billion Perseverance rover toward Mars has pushed the mission’s launch date back to no earlier than July 30, nearly two weeks into a month-long window for the rover to head to the Red Planet, or else face a two-year delay.

After crane problem, ULA caps build-up of Atlas 5 rocket for Mars rover launch

June 12, 2020

United Launch Alliance has completed stacking of the major elements of the Atlas 5 rocket assigned to power NASA’s Perseverance rover toward Mars, but the mission’s launch date has been pushed back three days to July 20 after teams repaired an issue with a crane in the Atlas 5’s assembly building.

Video: Drone footage of Starliner’s rollout to launch pad

December 1, 2019

The first Boeing Starliner spacecraft designed to fly to the International Space Station rolled out of the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Nov. 21.

Photos: Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft rolls out of factory

November 22, 2019

Boeing’s first Starliner spacecraft designed to fly to the International Space Station rolled out of a converted space shuttle hangar before dawn Thursday.

Boeing’s first space-ready Starliner crew capsule meets its Atlas 5 launcher

November 21, 2019

Boeing’s first Starliner crew capsule to fly in space departed its factory Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a trip to a launch pad a few miles away, where teams raised the craft atop an Atlas 5 rocket for liftoff next month on an unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station.

Photos: Centaur upper stage hoisted atop Atlas 5 rocket for Starliner launch

November 11, 2019

United Launch Alliance teams at Cape Canaveral hoisted a Centaur upper stage on top of an Atlas 5 rocket Friday at launch pad 41, completing the initial build-up of the launch vehicle slated to carry Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule into space in December on an unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station.