Telecom – Page 38 – Spaceflight Now

Q&A with Keith Gendreau, principal investigator of the first X-ray space communications experiment (members only)

May 7, 2019 Stephen Clark

Keith Gendreau, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, recently spoke with Spaceflight Now about a new experiment on the International Space Station to demonstrate X-ray communications in space for the first time.

FCC approves SpaceX’s plan to operate Starlink satellites at lower altitude

April 30, 2019 Stephen Clark

The Federal Communications Commission has granted a request by SpaceX to begin launching spacecraft for the company’s Starlink broadband network to a lower orbit than originally planned, overruling protests by competitors and clearing a major regulatory hurdle before the launch of the first batch of Internet satellites from Cape Canaveral in May.

Atlas 5 rocket, U.S. Air Force satellite arrive at Cape Canaveral for June launch

April 26, 2019 Stephen Clark

Atlas 5 rocket hardware and a U.S. Air Force communications satellite have arrived at Cape Canaveral for United Launch Alliance’s next mission, scheduled for liftoff June 27.

Intelsat declares drifting satellite total loss

April 22, 2019 Stephen Clark

Intelsat has declared the Intelsat 29e communications satellite a total loss after the Boeing-built spacecraft suffered a fuel leak and shed debris in geostationary orbit, three years into a planned 15-year mission.

Falcon Heavy core booster tips over in rough seas after drone ship landing

April 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

The core booster from the Falcon Heavy rocket that launched Thursday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida tipped over in rough seas after landing on an offshore drone ship, SpaceX officials said Monday.

Photos: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy aces second mission

April 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

Photos captured by remote cameras placed at launch pad 39A show SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket soaring skyward Thursday evening atop more than 5 million pounds of thrust.

Stricken with fuel leak, Intelsat 29e seen drifting in geostationary orbit

April 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

A Boeing-built Intelsat communications satellite launched three years ago is drifting in geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator after suffering a fuel leak and releasing debris fragments last week, according to an analysis by space surveillance experts.

SpaceX retrieves Falcon Heavy fairings from sea for reuse on future launch

April 12, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk said Thursday that the company’s recovery fleet in the Atlantic Ocean recovered the two halves of the Falcon Heavy’s payload shroud after the heavy-lifter’s second launch from the Kennedy Space Center. Musk said the company plans to reuse the fairing for the first time later this year.

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successful in commercial debut

April 11, 2019 Stephen Clark

On its second flight, SpaceX’s mammoth Falcon Heavy rocket hurled an Arabsat communications satellite the size of a school bus nearly one-quarter the way to the moon Thursday, days after NASA’s administrator identified the privately-developed rocket as a backup to the agency’s behind-schedule Space Launch System for sending astronauts back to the lunar surface.

Photos: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy fires into a clear evening sky

April 11, 2019 Stephen Clark

Soaring into a clear early evening sky, SpaceX’s second Falcon Heavy rocket lifted off from a seaside launch complex Thursday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida before a crowd of thousands of space enthusiasts.