Deployable Space Systems – Spaceflight Now

Cargo Dragon docks at space station

June 6, 2023 William Harwood

Closing out an automated 18-hour rendezvous, a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship loaded with 7,000 pounds of supplies and equipment, including two add-on roll-out solar blankets, caught up with the International Space Station early Tuesday and moved in for a problem-free docking.

SpaceX launch sends upgraded solar arrays to International Space Station

June 5, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s 28th resupply mission to the International Space Station lifted off Monday from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying new solar arrays, fresh food, and experiments to sustain research and upgrade the power system on the orbiting laboratory.

Third set of upgraded solar arrays ready for ride to International Space Station

June 2, 2023 Stephen Clark

Two more roll-out solar arrays will ride a SpaceX cargo ship to the International Space Station this weekend, continuing a years-long mid-life station upgrade as NASA plans procurement of a final set of new solar wings to fully reinforce the lab’s power supply.

Launch of asteroid deflection demonstrator slips to November

March 9, 2021 Stephen Clark

The launch of a NASA spacecraft designed to smash into an asteroid to try out a technique that could protect Earth from threatening space rocks has slipped from July until November, at the earliest, after development delays partially caused by coronavirus-related work slowdowns.

Astronauts complete spacewalk to prep for station power system upgrades

February 28, 2021 William Harwood

Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station Sunday for the first in a series of spacewalks to upgrade the lab’s aging solar power system, assembling a support fixture that eventually will hold a new solar blanket.

Boeing says assembly complete on first set of new space station solar arrays

January 13, 2021 Stephen Clark

Engineers from Boeing and a team of subcontractors have finished building the first pair of six new solar arrays to bolster the International Space Station’s aging electrical system ahead of their launch to the orbiting outpost as soon as May aboard SpaceX’s next Cargo Dragon mission.

NASA chooses Maxar to build keystone module for lunar Gateway station

May 24, 2019 Stephen Clark

NASA has selected Maxar Technologies for a $375 million contract to design, build and launch the core element of a mini-space station in orbit around the moon that will double as a deep space research outpost and a staging point for future human expeditions to the lunar surface.

Prototype solar array jettisoned as Dragon capsule prepares for trip home

June 30, 2017 Stephen Clark

An experimental solar wing sent to the International Space Station earlier this month was jettisoned from the orbiting lab’s robotic arm after engineers were unable to fully retract the array.

Reused Dragon cargo capsule launched on journey to space station

June 3, 2017 Stephen Clark

A refurbished robotic Dragon spaceship rocketed into orbit from Florida on Saturday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher, hauling nearly 6,000 pounds of crew provisions and biological, astrophysics and space technology experiments on a two-day trip to the International Space Station.

Satellite for broadband on-the-go next in rapid-fire SpaceX launch campaign

May 10, 2017 Stephen Clark

A powerhouse communications satellite owned by Inmarsat has been fueled for liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Monday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a mission to provide broadband links for passengers and crews aboard ships and airplanes, while technicians are loading space station-bound supplies into a commercial Dragon cargo capsule and preparing a Bulgarian telecom for launch on two other SpaceX boosters by mid-June.