Commercial Space – Page 134

Anticipating upgraded spaceships, SpaceX builds final first-generation Dragon cargo craft

July 29, 2017 Stephen Clark

The Dragon supply ship set for liftoff from Florida next month was the last of SpaceX’s first-generation cargo capsules off the production line, meaning future logistics deliveries to the International Space Station will fly on recycled spacecraft until a new Dragon variant is ready.

Musk aims for November debut of Falcon Heavy

July 28, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX aims to launch the first Falcon Heavy rocket in November, company chief Elon Musk said Thursday, the latest in a series of schedule targets for the heavy-lift launcher’s delayed debut.

Musk sets expectations low for maiden Falcon Heavy launch

July 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

When SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket finally takes off for the first time, a debut now scheduled this fall, there’s a good chance the commercial heavy-lifter will falter short of reaching orbit, company founder and chief designer Elon Musk said last week.

Sierra Nevada confirms ULA will launch first two Dream Chaser cargo missions

July 22, 2017 Stephen Clark

Sierra Nevada and United Launch Alliance have announced the most powerful version of the Atlas 5 rocket, with five strap-on boosters and a twin-engine upper stage, will send the first two Dream Chaser cargo missions to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral in 2020 and 2021, a schedule that still must be confirmed by NASA.

Soyuz liftoff glimpsed by orbiting observer and launch pad cameras

July 19, 2017 Stephen Clark

The launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket July 14 with more than 70 satellites was captured in multiple views from a sharp-eyed orbiting nanosatellite and cameras positioned around the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser on the move in California

July 17, 2017 Stephen Clark

An atmospheric test model of Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser spacecraft, a cargo carrier for the International Space Station that will take off on top of an Atlas 5 rocket and land on a runway, is undergoing braking and steering checks in California ahead of a flight test later this year, the company said Monday.

Soyuz rocket lifts off with 73 satellites

July 14, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz booster lifted off Friday from Kazakhstan on a complex mission to deploy 73 satellites into three different orbits, including a Russian spacecraft to locate forest fires, 48 CubeSats for Planet’s global Earth observation fleet, and eight nanosatellites for Spire Global’s commercial weather network.

Soyuz rolled out for launch of multinational satellite cluster

July 12, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Soyuz rocket arrived at a launch pad Tuesday in Kazakhstan for liftoff later this week with a satellite to monitor natural disasters and track forest fires from orbit and 72 secondary payloads from Russia, the United States, Germany, Norway and Japan.

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.

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.