Launch – Page 64 – Spaceflight Now

Starship prototype clears cryogenic pressure test

April 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX founder Elon Musk said a prototype for the company’s planned Starship launch vehicle passed a cryogenic proof test Sunday night in South Texas, clearing the way for teams to install a Raptor engine this week for a test-firing.

Soyuz launches from Kazakhstan with space station supply ship

April 25, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Soyuz rocket decorated to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe fired into space Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, sending a Progress supply ship on a fast-track, three-hour pursuit of the International Space Station.

ULA begins stacking rocket for next launch of U.S. military spaceplane

April 24, 2020 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance technicians raised the first stage of the company’s next Atlas 5 rocket onto a mobile launch platform at Cape Canaveral Thursday, kicking off the launch vehicle’s build-up for a mission scheduled for liftoff May 16 with the U.S. military’s hush-hush X-37B spaceplane.

SpaceX’s Starlink network surpasses 400-satellite mark after successful launch

April 22, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched 60 more spacecraft Wednesday to join the Starlink fleet beaming broadband signals around the world, while the company’s engineers move closer to debuting a sunshade that could reduce the satellites’ impacts on ground-based astronomy.

Russian resupply freighter poised for launch to International Space Station

April 22, 2020 Stephen Clark

Continuing support of the International Space Station amid the coronavirus pandemic, Russian teams transferred a Soyuz rocket to a launch pad in Kazakhstan on Wednesday in preparation for liftoff with a Progress resupply freighter.

Iran places military satellite in orbit

April 22, 2020 Stephen Clark

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps — a branch of the country’s armed forces — launched a small military spacecraft into orbit Wednesday, ending a string of rocket failures in the nascent Iranian satellite program.

Timeline for Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites

April 22, 2020 Stephen Clark

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network.

Live coverage: SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites

April 22, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched 60 more Starlink Internet satellites Wednesday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff from pad 39A occurred at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT), and the Falcon 9’s previously-flown first stage successfully landed on SpaceX’s offshore drone ship.

SpaceX modifies Starlink network design as another 60 satellites gear up for launch

April 21, 2020 Stephen Clark

Another 60 Starlink satellites are ready for launch Wednesday to beam Internet signals to future SpaceX consumers as the company seeks regulatory approval to deploy thousands more spacecraft at lower altitudes than originally planned.

NASA narrows design for rocket to launch samples off of Mars

April 20, 2020 Stephen Clark

After years of studies, test-firings and a survey of U.S. industry in preparation for launch of a Mars Sample Return mission in 2026, NASA has settled on a solid-fueled design for a miniature rocket with a first-of-its-kind purpose: Launching a payload from Mars for a trip back to Earth.