SkySat – Spaceflight Now

Starlink satellite deployments continue with successful Falcon 9 launch

June 13, 2020

Breaking a SpaceX record for the shortest span between two missions from the same launch pad, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Saturday from Cape Canaveral carrying 58 more Starlink broadband satellites and three Earth-imaging spacecraft for Planet.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on first Starlink rideshare mission

June 13, 2020

Another batch of Starlink Internet satellites shared a ride into orbit with three of Planet’s SkySat Earth-imaging satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Saturday. The Falcon 9 lifted off at 5:21 a.m. EDT (0921 GMT) from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Hitching a ride with SpaceX, Planet poised to complete SkySat fleet

June 12, 2020

Three of Planet’s SkySat Earth-imaging satellites are mounted on top of 58 of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellites for launch Saturday from Cape Canaveral on top of a Falcon 9 rocket, the first secondary payloads to ride to orbit on SpaceX’s commercial rideshare service.

Planet reserves rideshare slots on SpaceX Starlink launches

May 17, 2020

Three of Planet’s commercial SkySat Earth-imaging spacecraft will ride to space on top of a stack of SpaceX Starlink satellites next month aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, and three more will hitch a ride on another SpaceX mission later this summer.

Second Iranian satellite launch attempt in a month fails

February 11, 2019

Iran’s second try in less than a month to send a satellite into orbit apparently failed shortly after liftoff from a remote desert launch pad under daily surveillance from a fleet of commercial imaging spacecraft, according to U.S. government officials and independent analysts.

Iran admits failure in satellite launch attempt

January 16, 2019

An Iranian Simorgh rocket launch carrying an Earth observation spacecraft faltered before reaching orbit Tuesday after analysts used imagery from commercial U.S. satellites in recent weeks to track preparations for the mission.

Spaceflight preps for first launch of unique orbiting satellite deployers

August 23, 2018

Engineers working for Spaceflight, a Seattle-based launch services company, are in the final steps of preparing for the first launch of new robotic free flyers carrying more than 70 small government and commercial satellites into polar orbit later this year aboard a dedicated flight of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Photos: Minotaur-C rocket lifts off from California’s Central Coast

November 5, 2017

Orbital ATK’s Minotaur-C rocket delivered 10 satellites to orbit Oct. 31 after liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, marking the solid-fueled rocket’s return to flight — with a new name and upgrades — after a six-year hiatus.

Ten commercial Earth-observing satellites launched aboard Minotaur-C rocket

October 31, 2017

Returning to service after a six-year hiatus, Orbital ATK’s revamped Minotaur-C rocket soared into space Tuesday from California’s Central Coast with 10 commercial Earth-imaging spacecraft for Planet, a San Francisco-based company with a globe-spanning satellite fleet mapping the world’s land masses every day.

Photos: Minotaur-C rocket awaits liftoff from California

October 31, 2017

Standing on a seaside launch pad overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a Minotaur-C rocket is set for launch Tuesday from California’s Central Coast with 10 Earth observation satellites manufactured in San Francisco and Silicon Valley.