Commercial Space – Page 140

Live coverage: SpaceX prepares for station cargo launch

May 28, 2017 Spaceflight Now

A Falcon 9 rocket was raised into position at pad 39A on Sunday for a customary test firing of its nine first stage Merlin engines. The rocket is being readied for a launch Thursday with a Dragon capsule carrying supplies to the International Space Station.

Videos: Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifts off for first time

May 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab’s Electron commercial satellite launcher lifted off from New Zealand on its debut test flight Thursday and soared into space on its maiden mission.

Maiden flight of Rocket Lab’s small satellite launcher reaches space

May 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

The debut launch of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from a privately-operated base in New Zealand made it to space Thursday, proving the performance of major parts of the booster before faltering short of the velocity it needed to enter orbit, the company said in a statement.

Rocket Lab waits for improved weather for test flight of new commercial launcher

May 24, 2017 Stephen Clark

Worsening weather at Rocket Lab’s New Zealand launch facility forced officials to call off the liftoff of a new commercial satellite booster for the third straight day Tuesday.

Budget proposal puts NASA satellite servicing mission in doubt

May 23, 2017 Stephen Clark

NASA plans to shelve a robotic demonstration mission to refuel an aging Landsat Earth-imaging observatory and join forces with the private sector and a U.S. military research and development agency in a public-private partnership to commercialize satellite servicing technologies, according to language in the White House’s budget request released Tuesday.

Rocket Lab delays debut of new launcher to dodge bad weather

May 23, 2017 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab, a company eyeing a market to launch small satellites, said Monday that bad weather at its privately-operated launch base on New Zealand’s North Island kept a commercial Electron booster from lifting off on its maiden test flight for the second day in a row.

Photos: Soyuz rocket climbs into space with SES 15

May 21, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Soyuz rocket took off from French Guiana on Thursday with the SES 15 communications satellite, a craft heading for an orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator to provide airborne wifi and aeronautical navigation services over the United States.

Small satellite launcher set for first orbital test flight this week

May 20, 2017 Stephen Clark

The first test flight of Rocket Lab’s commercially-developed Electron launcher was held up by weather Sunday, but conditions could improve for a launch attempt Monday from New Zealand to place an instrumented rocket stage into Earth orbit in a demonstration of the company’s low-cost delivery system for lightweight satellites.

EchoStar, SES satellites enter service after March launches from Cape Canaveral

May 19, 2017 Stephen Clark

Two communications satellites launched from Cape Canaveral in March aboard Falcon 9 rockets, including a broadcasting craft that lifted off on SpaceX’s first re-flown booster, have entered commercial service, according to their owners.

Soyuz rocket orbits satellite for airborne navigation and connectivity

May 18, 2017 Stephen Clark

A commercial SES communications satellite on the way to an operating post over the Americas rode into orbit from French Guiana aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket Thursday, embarking on a mission to help airline travelers stay connected and improve air navigation over the United States.