Commercial Space – Page 149

India lofts a record 104 spacecraft on a single rocket

February 15, 2017 Stephen Clark

An Indian rocket deployed 104 spacecraft into orbit 300 miles above Earth on Tuesday, the largest pack of satellites ever launched on a single booster.

Indian rocket set to place 104 satellites in orbit

February 14, 2017 Stephen Clark

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is scheduled to fire into orbit late Tuesday, U.S. time, with 104 satellites on-board, setting a record for the largest flock of spacecraft ever launched on a single rocket.

Fire returns to flame trench at Apollo-era launch pad in Florida

February 12, 2017 Stephen Clark

Nine Merlin engines ignited and throttled up to nearly 2 million pounds of thrust Sunday during a brief hold-down firing of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, sending a plume of smoke out of the flame trench at Kennedy Space Center’s historic launch pad 39A as the company preps for a space station cargo mission next weekend.

Live coverage: SpaceX begins final launch preparations at historic launch pad

February 10, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Falcon 9 rocket is being readied for a space station resupply mission at Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A . The rocket is scheduled to launch at 10:01 a.m. EST (1501 GMT) on Saturday, weather permitting. Watch live coverage.

SpaceX readies rocket for tests at historic pad 39A

February 8, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX engineers are preparing to mount a Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy Space Center’s historic launch pad 39A for the first time this week as the company declares the modified facility ready to support a new era of commercial space missions.

NASA okays commercial airlock for space station

February 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

A commercial airlock built in partnership by NanoRacks and Boeing will be connected to the International Space Station in 2019, the companies announced Monday, after the proposed project won preliminary approval from NASA managers.

Planet acquires rival satellite company from Google

February 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

San Francisco-based Planet, a company with a fleet of miniature satellites in orbit looking down on Earth, has acquired Terra Bella from Google to add high-resolution imaging to its business portfolio.

Commercial Earth-observing craft recover from off-target launch

January 11, 2017 Stephen Clark

Two Chinese satellites launched into the wrong orbit Dec. 28 have reached their planned perch at an altitude of around 300 miles and sent back their first high-resolution views of Earth for their Beijing-based commercial owner.

Kuaizhou rocket lifts off on first commercial mission

January 9, 2017 Stephen Clark

A solid-fueled Chinese Kuaizhou launcher positioned to compete for worldwide business took off Monday on its first commercial mission with three small satellites to collect high-definition video and test communications technologies.

Virgin Galactic’s second spaceship aces first glide flight

December 5, 2016 Stephen Clark

Virgin Galactic’s second SpaceShipTwo rocket plane glided to a runway landing after dropping from its carrier aircraft over California’s Mojave Desert on Saturday.