Launch – Page 135 – Spaceflight Now

Live coverage: Probe heading to Mercury blasts off from French Guiana

October 19, 2018 Stephen Clark

The nearly $1.9 billion BepiColombo mission to Mercury jointly developed by the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency lifted off Friday night from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. Launch occurred at 9:45 p.m. EDT Friday (0145 GMT Saturday).

Photos: Atlas 5 rocket lifts off with Air Force’s AEHF 4 satellite

October 18, 2018 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket fired into the night sky over Cape Canaveral just after midnight Wednesday, carrying the U.S. Air Force’s fourth AEHF communications satellite designed to enable secure voice, video and data links between U.S. and allied forces.

Air Force’s fourth AEHF communications satellite successfully launched from Florida

October 17, 2018 Stephen Clark

A $1.8 billion U.S. Air Force communications satellite rode a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket into orbit Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, joining three similar craft perched more than 22,000 miles above Earth to ensure government leaders can remain in contact with military commanders in the worst-case scenario of nuclear war.

Video: Atlas 5 rocket blasts off with AEHF 4 satellite

October 17, 2018 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force’s fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency spacecraft launched Wednesday from Cape Canaveral on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, expanding the reach of the military’s most secure, jam-resistant satellite communications network.

Live coverage: Atlas 5 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral

October 16, 2018 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance’s 50th mission for the U.S. Air Force lifted off at 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 GMT) Wednesday. An Atlas 5 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral with the Air Force’s fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite.

ULA, Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman share Air Force rocket funding

October 16, 2018 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force has committed $109 million in funding to advance development of new rockets designed by United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman, leaving out SpaceX in a government investment round that will lead to the military’s selection of two long-term launch providers in late 2019 or 2020.

Launch timeline for Atlas 5’s AEHF 4 mission

October 16, 2018 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Atlas 5 rocket is set to launch the U.S. Air Force’s fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite from Cape Canaveral. This timeline shows the major mission events planned over a three-and-a-half-hour flight to an optimized geostationary transfer orbit.

China launches two more Beidou navigation satellites

October 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

A Long March 3B rocket carried two more Beidou navigation satellites into orbit Monday, the 14th and 15th Chinese navigation spacecraft launched this year.

Safety panel says much work left to do before commercial crew ships fly

October 13, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA safety advisors on Thursday lauded hardware milestones on Boeing and SpaceX commercial crew capsules, but said multiple technical issues, including problems with parachutes, must be resolved before the human-rated ships are ready to carry astronauts, adding that both companies continue to pursue schedules that appear to be unachievable.

Two satellites with secretive missions launched by China

October 12, 2018 Stephen Clark

Two Chinese Yaogan military reconnaissance satellites launched this week, riding a Long March 2C booster into orbit on a mission that inaugurated the use of a new restartable upper stage to increase the rocket’s carrying capacity.