Launch – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

Video: Falcon 9 soars into space with SES 12

June 4, 2018

Watch a replay of the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral shortly after midnight Monday with the SES 12 communications satellite.

Multi-mission telecom craft launched by SpaceX for SES

June 4, 2018

A powerful commercial communications satellite driven by plasma thrusters rode a reused SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster away from Cape Canaveral early Monday, climbing into orbit to connect companies, homes, airplanes and ships across much of the Eastern Hemisphere.

Video: Falcon 9 joins rising moon in the sky during middle-of-the-night launch

June 4, 2018

Flying with a reused first stage booster, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket climbed into orbit from Florida’s Space Coast early Monday with a commercial communications satellite for the Luxembourg-based operator SES.

Falcon 9 launch timeline with SES 12

June 3, 2018

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Monday, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the SES 12 communications satellite into orbit around 32 minutes later.

Earth-observers delivered to space by Long March 2D rocket

June 3, 2018

A Chinese environmental research craft and an experimental Earth-imaging nanosatellite successfully launched Saturday aboard a Long March 2D rocket.

Chinese data relay satellite nears post over far side of the moon

June 3, 2018

A Chinese communications satellite carrying a Dutch radio astronomy instrument launched last month is expected to maneuver into position around a gravitationally-neutral point beyond the moon in the coming days, ready to relay telemetry and data between Earth and the Chang’e 4 lander set to attempt the first landing on lunar far side late this year.

Live coverage: SpaceX rocket launches with SES 12 communications satellite

June 3, 2018

SpaceX has launched a Falcon 9 rocket with a previously-flown first stage booster carrying the SES 12 communications satellite, an all-electric, multi-band video and data relay platform to serve the Asia-Pacific region. Liftoff from Cape Canaveral occurred at 12:45 a.m. EDT (0445 GMT), and SpaceX did not plan to recover the first stage.

SpaceX delays launch to run additional tests on rocket

May 31, 2018

SpaceX has delayed the launch of the SES 12 commercial communications satellite from Cape Canaveral until Monday to conduct additional tests on the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage, officials said Thursday.

New helium tank for SpaceX crew launches still waiting to fly

May 25, 2018

SpaceX is still working on a new, safer helium tank design needed for launches with astronauts, and the debut of the company’s upgraded Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket earlier this month did not count as one of seven successful missions in “crew configuration” NASA says it requires before putting astronauts aboard the vehicle, officials said Thursday.

Rocket Lab updates launch window for first commercial mission

May 25, 2018

After a two-month delay to resolve a technical concern, Rocket Lab plans to launch its first commercial mission as soon as June 22, U.S. time, from the company’s rocket base in New Zealand, the company announced Friday.