NASA – Page 85 – Spaceflight Now

Russians plan Thursday launch of two to space station

October 10, 2018 William Harwood

One week after a Russian Soyuz spacecraft departed the International Space Station and brought three crew members back to Earth, another Soyuz carrying a veteran cosmonaut and a first-time NASA flight engineer is ready for launch Thursday on a quick four-orbit flight to the orbiting lab complex.

Photos: Soyuz transferred to Baikonur launch pad

October 10, 2018 Stephen Clark

A Soyuz rocket poised to send two new crew members to the International Space Station rolled to its launch pad Tuesday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Hubble Space Telescope in safe mode with gyro trouble

October 9, 2018 William Harwood

NASA has suspended science operations with the Hubble Space Telescope and put the observatory into protective “safe mode” while engineers troubleshoot problems with one of the spacecraft’s three remaining gyroscopes, used to help aim the telescope and keep it locked on target, officials said Monday.

No commercial crew test flights expected this year

October 6, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA has released new target dates for test flights of commercial crew capsules in development by SpaceX and Boeing, with unpiloted demo missions by SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spaceships now scheduled for January and March, followed by crewed orbital missions in mid-2019.

Photos: Final Delta 2 launch shines before dawn in California

September 21, 2018 Stephen Clark

Flying for the 155th and final time, a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket took off from California on Sept. 15 with NASA’s ICESat 2 satellite.

Leftover Delta 2 rocket to go on display at Kennedy Space Center

September 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance plans to assemble leftover parts for a Delta 2 rocket display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida alongside other icons of U.S. rocketry, the company announced Saturday soon after the final Delta 2 launch.

Early morning launch closes book on Delta 2 legacy spanning nearly 30 years

September 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket fired away from a California military base and disappeared into an overcast cloud deck Saturday on its final flight, carrying a NASA research satellite into orbit and closing the book on a nearly 30-year legacy of launches.

Engineers say goodbye to society-changing Delta 2 rocket

September 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

When the first Delta 2 rocket took off on Valentine’s Day 1989, ideas like navigating by smartphone and driving robots on Mars were science fiction. More than 150 launches over the last 30 years helped change all that.

Live coverage: Final Delta 2 rocket launches from California

September 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

The final flight of a Delta 2 rocket, a mainstay of the U.S. launch industry for nearly 30 years, began at 6:02 a.m. PDT (9:02 a.m. EDT; 1302 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with NASA’s ICESat 2 Earth science satellite.

Scientists eager to renew global ice measurements with ICESat 2 mission

September 14, 2018 Stephen Clark

The satellite awaiting launch early Saturday from California aboard the final flight of the venerable Delta 2 rocket should allow scientists to more precisely track changes in our planet’s ice sheets, using six green laser beams to chart the height and slope of polar ice and glaciers, providing a key input into climate change research.