Launch – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

Soyuz booster rolled out in Kazakhstan for next space station crew launch

March 12, 2019

A Soyuz rocket arrived at a historic launch pad in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, where ground crews lifted the booster vertical to begin final preparations for liftoff Thursday with two Americans and one Russian heading for the International Space Station.

Chinese TV broadcasting satellite launched on 300th Long March rocket

March 11, 2019

A Chinese television broadcasting satellite lifted off Saturday aboard a Long March 3B booster, the 300th orbital launch by the country’s Long March rocket family since 1970.

SpaceX, ULA win military contracts, Air Force renames EELV program

March 7, 2019

United Launch Alliance and SpaceX recently won contracts worth $739 million to send six missions into orbit for the U.S. military, and the Air Force has announced a new title for its flagship launcher program, dropping “expendable” from the name in a new era of reusable rockets.

Photos: SpaceX launches crew capsule demonstration flight

March 6, 2019

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, designed to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station, fired into orbit on top of a Falcon 9 rocket Saturday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

OneWeb announced as customer for inaugural Ariane 6 launch

March 5, 2019

Arianespace has announced OneWeb, the broadband Internet provider seeking to deploy more than 600 satellites into low Earth orbit, as the launch customer for the inaugural flight of the new Ariane 6 rocket in 2020.

Military satellite joined with Delta 4 rocket at Cape Canaveral

March 2, 2019

The addition of a U.S. Air Force communications satellite has capped the assembly of a 218-foot-tall United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket at Cape Canaveral set for liftoff the evening of March 13.

SpaceX launches first Crew Dragon ferry ship

March 2, 2019

Opening a new era in American spaceflight, a Falcon 9 rocket streaked into space early Saturday, boosting the company’s first Crew Dragon spacecraft into orbit on an unpiloted test flight, the first launch of a commercially developed capsule intended to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

Astronauts eager to see results of Crew Dragon test flight

March 1, 2019

The astronauts assigned to fly SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft beginning later this year said Friday they are excited for the capsule’s first orbital mission set for launch Saturday, but significant work remains before the ship is cleared to carry people.

Photos: Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon stand tall at pad 39A

March 1, 2019

These photos show the 215-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft at launch pad 39A, ready for liftoff from Florida’s Space Coast on a critical test flight to the International Space Station.

Photos: Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon arrive at pad 39A for launch

March 1, 2019

SpaceX rolled the first Crew Dragon spacecraft out to a Florida launch pad Thursday for final preparations ahead of a test flight to the International Space Station.