Commercial Space – Page 54

Kuaizhou 1A rocket lofts Chinese broadband test satellite

January 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

A solid-fueled Kuaizhou 1A launcher carried a commercial broadband communications satellite into orbit Thursday for Galaxy Space, a Chinese company that says it plans to launch up to 144 spacecraft for a space-based 5G network in the next few years.

Boeing releases in-cabin video from Starliner’s orbital test flight

January 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

Boeing has released a highlights reel video from in-cabin cameras on the December orbital test flight of an unpiloted Starliner crew capsule, showing views astronauts might experience on future missions.

Argentine smallsats hitch ride with Chinese payloads on Long March rocket

January 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

Two Earth-imaging microsatellites built and owned by the Argentine company Satellogic launched on a Long March 2D rocket from China Wednesday, sharing a ride into orbit with two Chinese spacecraft.

Boeing expects ‘minimal refurbishment’ on reusable Starliner crew capsule

January 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

While NASA and Boeing engineers investigate the cause of a software error that cut short the first orbital test flight of the Starliner crew capsule last month, ground teams have returned the spaceship from its landing site in New Mexico back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Preliminary inspections indicate the reusable spacecraft weathered its first trip into orbit better than expected, and Boeing teams are confident the ship will need only “minimal refurbishment” before its next launch with astronauts.

Video: Preview of dramatic Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test

January 14, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s final planned Crew Dragon test flight before astronauts ride the commercial spaceship into orbit is scheduled for Saturday, when an unpiloted crew capsule will fire off the top of a Falcon 9 rocket shortly after launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to test the craft’s in-flight emergency escape capability.

Dynetics, Sierra Nevada partnering on human-rated lunar lander proposal

January 13, 2020 Stephen Clark

Dynetics, an Alabama-based company with broad experience as a supplier of aerospace components and systems, is seeking a major role in NASA’s Artemis moon program with a proposal for a human-rated lunar lander developed in partnership with Sierra Nevada Corp. and other companies.

AEHF satellite arrives in Florida for first of nearly 20 Space Force launches this year

January 13, 2020 Stephen Clark

The sixth and final satellite in the U.S. military’s network of ultra-secure, nuclear-hardened AEHF communications relay stations has arrived in Florida for final preparations for liftoff in March on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, the first of nearly 20 U.S. Space Force missions planned for launch in the first year of operations for the new military service.

SpaceX test-fires rocket ahead of Crew Dragon in-flight abort test

January 11, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX fired up nine Merlin main engines at the bottom of a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster Saturday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, running the rocket through a practice countdown before a scheduled liftoff Jan. 18 with a Crew Dragon capsule to test the human-rated ship’s high-altitude abort capability.

Live coverage: SpaceX prepares for Crew Dragon in-flight abort test

January 9, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is gearing up for launch of an unpiloted Crew Dragon spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Center for a crucial test of the crew capsule’s launch abort system. A modified Falcon 9 rocket performed a test-firing at launch pad 39A Saturday before carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft into the upper atmosphere for an in-flight abort test scheduled for Jan. 18.

Dragon cargo capsule brings home space station science experiments

January 7, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s 19th Dragon resupply mission to the International Space Station ended Tuesday with the capsule’s splashdown in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Los Angeles with nearly 3,600 pounds of cargo and experiments.