Northrop Grumman – Page 22

Photos: Falcon 9 ready for launch from California

July 25, 2018 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket loaded with 10 Iridium Next communications satellite is awaiting a predawn launch Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from California

July 25, 2018 Stephen Clark

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 4:39 a.m. PDT (7:39 a.m. EDT; 1139 GMT) Wednesday, and SpaceX successfully landed the rocket’s first stage on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. The mission’s primary objective is the deployment of 10 Iridium Next communications satellites into low Earth orbit.

SpaceX’s fairing-catching boat heads to sea, this time with a bigger net

July 24, 2018 Stephen Clark

After several near-misses in tries to catch payload shrouds jettisoned from Falcon 9 rockets climbing into space, a high-speed boat tasked with retrieving the fairings for SpaceX to reuse has been upgraded and dispatched into the Pacific Ocean ahead of a launch Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force in California.

Weather-monitoring and tech demo CubeSats deployed in orbit

July 21, 2018 Stephen Clark

Fifteen CubeSats owned by NASA, Spire Global, and U.S. research institutions launched aboard a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo ship in May have been released into orbit, beginning missions to demonstrate miniaturized, low-cost Earth science instruments and join a commercial network of weather-monitoring nanosatellites.

Launch of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe rescheduled for Aug. 6

July 20, 2018 Stephen Clark

The launch of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, on the verge of kicking off a seven-year mission culminating in passages through the sun’s atmosphere, has been delayed to Aug. 6 to resolve a technical snag encountered during encapsulation of the spacecraft inside the nose shroud of its United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket.

Cygnus cargo ship released from space station, heads for extended mission

July 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

Closing out 52 days at the International Space Station, an automated Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft left the research outpost Sunday to climb into a higher orbit for deployment of six CubeSats and further engineering experiments, before de-orbiting over Pacific Ocean later this month.

Live coverage: Cygnus supply ship departs space station

July 15, 2018 Stephen Clark

A commercial Cygnus resupply craft that received a new corporate owner while berthed at the International Space Station — thanks to Northrop Grumman’s acquisition of Orbital ATK in June — departed the research complex Sunday. The supply ship was released by Canadarm 2 on the space station at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT).

U.S. cargo craft tests reboost capability at International Space Station

July 11, 2018 Stephen Clark

A commercial Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship berthed at the International Space Station fired its main engine for 50 seconds Tuesday in a test of the spacecraft’s ability to reboost, and possibly eventually deorbit, the massive research outpost.

NASA likely to relocate delayed Pegasus launch to Florida

July 5, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA and Northrop Grumman are expected to base the launch of an air-dropped Pegasus rocket with a NASA science satellite from Cape Canaveral later this year, after originally trying to get the mission into space from a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Scientists thrilled with closer views of Ceres’ famous salty crater

July 3, 2018 Stephen Clark

Fresh pictures from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft have provided the sharpest glimpse yet of the bright salt deposits discovered inside a crater on Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt.