Commercial Space – Page 12

Blue Origin to rehearse for human passengers on suborbital flight

April 13, 2021 Stephen Clark

Finally on the cusp of launching people to the edge of space, Blue Origin plans to use a suborbital test flight of its New Shepard booster and crew capsule Wednesday to rehearse boarding and recovery procedures for future missions with paying passengers.

Northrop Grumman servicer docks with active satellite in geosynchronous orbit

April 13, 2021 Stephen Clark

Northrop Grumman’s second robotic life extension spacecraft docked with an Intelsat satellite in geosynchronous orbit Monday, the first link-up between a commercial servicing mission and an operational communications craft.

SpaceX to ramp up Vandenberg launch cadence with Starlink missions

April 6, 2021 Stephen Clark

After a lull in launches from America’s primary West Coast rocket base, SpaceX is set to resume a regular cadence of missions from Vandenberg Air Force Base as soon as July to deploy hundreds of Starlink internet satellites into polar orbits, SpaceX’s president and industry officials said.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule swaps docking ports on space station

April 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

In the home stretch of nearly a half-year on the International Space Station, four astronauts suited up and rode their SpaceX-owned Crew Dragon “Resilience” spaceship to a new docking port outside the orbiting research lab Monday, a first-of-its kind maneuver for the new generation of commercial crew spaceships.

Musk says methane leak doomed latest Starship test flight

April 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Monday that a “relatively small” methane leak caused the explosion of the company’s latest Starship test rocket last week on an experimental flight over South Texas.

Live coverage: SpaceX crew capsule moves to new space station docking port

April 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

Four astronauts strapped into their SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Monday and rode along for an automated maneuver to relocate the capsule to a different docking port outside the International Space Station. The relocation maneuver, which concluded with a link-up with the new docking port 7:08 a.m. EDT (1108 GMT), was the first of its kind for a Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Station astronauts prep for relocation of SpaceX crew capsule

April 4, 2021 Stephen Clark

Commander Mike Hopkins and his three crewmates will board their Crew Dragon “Resilience” capsule Monday for a first-time maneuver to relocate the SpaceX-owned spaceship to a new docking port outside the International Space Station.

Final two passengers named for first all-civilian mission to orbit Earth

March 30, 2021 William Harwood

The billionaire financing the SpaceX flight that will carry the first non-professional “everyday people” into orbit in September, announced the final two members of his four-person crew Tuesday, adding an artist-educator and an aerospace worker selected in a charity-themed competition.

SpaceX’s latest high-altitude Starship test flight ends in another explosion

March 30, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight apparently ended with another explosion Tuesday in South Texas, but dense fog obscured clear views of the launch and failed landing. The Federal Aviation Administration said late Tuesday it is working with SpaceX to determine if light debris reported in a nearby town came from the Starship test rocket.

Remote sensing companies share satellite views of ship stuck in Suez Canal

March 29, 2021 Stephen Clark

Satellite remote sensing companies showcased their capabilities in recent days with regularly-updated overhead views of a nearly quarter-mile-long container ship blocking the Suez Canal in Egypt before salvage crews freed the vessel Monday.