Launch – Page 12 – Spaceflight Now

China launches four satellites on Long March 2C rocket

May 6, 2021 Stephen Clark

Three Chinese military satellites and a civilian data relay payload launched Thursday aboard a Long March 2C rocket.

Upgraded Starship prototype makes first soft landing after test flight

May 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched and landed an upgraded prototype for the company’s next-generation Starship vehicle in South Texas on Wednesday, the company’s first Starship test flight since winning a $2.9 billion NASA contract to use the craft to land astronauts on the Moon.

Starlink launch marks 100 missions since an in-flight Falcon rocket failure

May 4, 2021 Stephen Clark

The oldest Falcon 9 booster in SpaceX’s operational rocket fleet sent 60 more Starlink internet satellites into space Tuesday with a launch from historic pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

China launches military observation satellite

May 4, 2021 Stephen Clark

China launched an optical Earth observation satellite April 30, beginning a mission designed to provide detailed reconnaissance imagery to the Chinese military.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches another Starlink mission

May 4, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket at 3:01 p.m. EDT (1901 GMT) Tuesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying 60 more Starlink satellites into orbit. SpaceX successfully landed the Falcon 9 booster on a drone ship offshore.

Astronauts describe thrilling ride to orbit on Falcon 9 rocket

April 30, 2021 William Harwood

When the countdown hit zero last Friday and the engines powering a previously flown Falcon 9 first stage roared to life for takeoff, the four astronauts strapped into a SpaceX Crew Dragon some 21 stories up started laughing.

Chinese Long March 6 rocket delivers nine small satellites to space

April 30, 2021 Stephen Clark

Nine small Chinese satellites, including a technology experiment to test out ways to capture space debris, rode a Long March 6 rocket into orbit April 27 on a rideshare mission managed by China Great Wall Industry Corp., the government-owned enterprise charged with selling Chinese launch services on the commercial market.

Core of NASA’s first Artemis moon rocket towed into Vehicle Assembly Building

April 29, 2021 Stephen Clark

A decade in the making, the core stage for NASA’s first Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket rolled into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center Thursday to join up with twin solid rocket boosters and an Orion capsule for an unpiloted test flight around the moon.

SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink spacecraft; FCC clears SpaceX to fly satellites at lower altitudes

April 29, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX deployed 60 more Starlink internet-beaming spacecraft into orbit after a fiery late-night blastoff of a Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday night from Cape Canaveral, surpassing the 1,500-satellite mark since Starlink launches began. Another Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to haul the next batch of Starlink satellites to space next week.

“Big relief” as Europe’s Vega rocket returns to service with successful launch

April 29, 2021 Stephen Clark

A European Vega rocket deployed six commercial satellites in orbit, including a new Airbus-built eye-in-the-sky for high-resolution Earth-imaging, on a successful launch from French Guiana on Wednesday night after two of the last three Vega missions failed.