Wallops Flight Facility – Spaceflight Now

Long March, Soyuz and Falcon rockets topped 2019’s launch leaderboard

January 2, 2020 Stephen Clark

China led the world with 34 orbital launch attempts in 2019 — including two failures — followed by 22 flights from Russian-operated launch pads and 21 satellite delivery missions originating from U.S. spaceports, all of which were successful.

Photos: Antares rocket blasts off from Virginia

April 23, 2019 Stephen Clark

A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket launch April 17 from Virginia’s Eastern Shore marked the start of the 11th Cygnus resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Antares rocket boosts Cygnus supply ship toward International Space Station

April 18, 2019 Stephen Clark

A commercial Cygnus cargo freighter packed with 3.8 tons of medical and pharmaceutical experiments, technology demonstration hardware, CubeSats and crew provisions rode an Antares rocket into orbit from Virginia’s Eastern Shore on Wednesday afternoon on the first leg of a day-and-a-half journey to the International Space Station.

Photos: Ground crews load final cargo into Cygnus supply ship

April 17, 2019 Stephen Clark

Technicians working at launch pad 0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia completed the final loading of cargo into Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus supply ship late Tuesday, and the Antares rocket was raised vertical again in preparation for Wednesday’s countdown.

Antares launch timeline on the NG-11 mission

April 17, 2019 Stephen Clark

Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket will deliver a Cygnus supply ship into orbit Wednesday to begin a day-and-a-half pursuit of the International Space Station.

Live coverage: Cygnus supply ship arrives at International Space Station

April 17, 2019 Stephen Clark

A day-and-a-half after launching from Virginia aboard an Antares rocket, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship loaded with nearly 7,600 pounds of experiments and provisions arrived at the International Space Station on Friday. Astronaut Anne McClain captured the Cygnus spacecraft with the space station’s Canadian-built robotic arm at 5:28 a.m. EDT (0928 GMT).

Northrop Grumman introducing new capabilities on Cygnus cargo craft

April 16, 2019 Stephen Clark

The next Cygnus resupply mission to the International Space Station set for liftoff Wednesday from Virginia’s Eastern Shore will introduce new capabilities for the commercial cargo freighter, including a longer operating life enabled by fuel-saving gyroscopes to support an extended mission months after the spacecraft departs the International Space Station, Northrop Grumman officials said.

Photos: Antares reaches launch pad in Virginia for space station cargo mission

April 16, 2019 Stephen Clark

A two-stage Northrop Grumman Antares rocket rolled out of its horizontal integration facility Monday for the mile-journey south to launch pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia, where liftoff on a space station resupply mission is scheduled for Wednesday.

Photos: Antares rocket fires into space from Virginia’s Eastern Shore

November 21, 2018 Stephen Clark

Look back on the launch Saturday of a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia, powered by a pair of kerosene-fueled RD-181 engines producing 864,000 pounds of thrust.

Antares rocket launches cargo run to International Space Station

November 17, 2018 Stephen Clark

A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo carrier climbed into orbit Saturday from Wallops Island, Virginia, in pursuit of the International Space Station with more than 7,200 pounds of research hardware and provisions, the second supply ship launch to the space station in less than 24 hours.