Prox 1 – Spaceflight Now

August 20, 2019

Breaking News

[ August 19, 2019 ] Rocket Lab launch fulfills initial block of BlackSky Earth-imaging satellites Mission Reports
[ August 19, 2019 ] Launch providers announce rideshare missions large and small News
[ August 19, 2019 ] ULA’s second launch of the month scheduled for Thursday Delta 4
[ August 17, 2019 ] China’s Jielong 1 smallsat launcher successful on first flight Mission Reports
[ August 16, 2019 ] NASA directs Alabama space center to manage lunar lander program Mission Reports

LightSail team declares success in solar sail experiment

August 1, 2019

The gentle push of sunlight is slowly changing the orbit of the Planetary Society’s crowd-funded LightSail 2 satellite after it unfurled a thin solar sail the size of a boxing ring last week, officials confirmed Wednesday.

Privately-funded spacecraft now solar sailing in Earth orbit

July 26, 2019

A nanosatellite launched aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket last month has unfurled a solar sail membrane and is using light pressure from the sun to change its orbit around Earth, pioneering techniques that could be used by future missions traveling to the sun’s stellar neighbors.

Rideshare mission for U.S. military confirmed as second Falcon Heavy launch

March 1, 2018

More than two dozen satellites from the U.S. military, NASA and research institutions will ride into orbit on SpaceX’s second Falcon Heavy rocket launch, a mission currently scheduled for liftoff in June, a military spokesperson said.