Wallops Island – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

Top secret NRO payload installed on Minotaur rocket for launch from Virginia

July 4, 2020 Stephen Clark

Crews working on Virginia’s Eastern Shore this week raised a top secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office — the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency — atop a solid-fueled Minotaur 4 rocket for liftoff July 15 on the first Minotaur launch in nearly three years.

Rocket Lab plans next launch Saturday, closes in on first mission from Virginia

July 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

Rocket Lab is readying for a launch from its New Zealand spaceport Saturday (U.S. time) with seven commercial satellites from Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, while teams at Wallops Island, Virginia, move closer to Rocket Lab’s first launch there as soon as August.

Photos: Antares rocket lifts off with station-bound Cygnus supply ship

February 19, 2020 Stephen Clark

Powered by two Russian-made RD-181 main engines, a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket fired into a mostly sunny sky Saturday afternoon over Virginia’s Eastern Shore carrying nearly 7,500 pounds of equipment to the International Space Station.

Antares rocket lifts off from Virginia on space station cargo mission

February 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

A twin-engine Northrop Grumman Antares rocket climbed into orbit Saturday from Virginia’s Eastern Shore carrying a Cygnus supply ship bound for the International Space Station with a compact electron microscope, a flame combustion experiment, a range of biological investigations, fresh cheese, fruit and vegetables for the research lab’s three-person crew.

NASA picks Rocket Lab to launch lunar CubeSat mission

February 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA announced Friday that Rocket Lab will launch a 55-pound CubeSat from Wallops Island, Virginia, toward the moon in early 2021 on a demonstration mission to test lunar navigation techniques and scout a unique elliptical orbit for the planned Gateway mini-space station.

Live coverage: Cygnus supply ship arrives at space station

February 14, 2020 Stephen Clark

Two-and-a-half days after launch from Virginia, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship arrived at the International Space Station Tuesday with nearly 7,500 pounds of cargo. Capture with the station’s robotic arm occurred at 4:05 a.m. EST (0905 GMT).

Antares launch scrubbed due to faulty ground support equipment

February 10, 2020 Stephen Clark

The launch of a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket with an automated commercial space station cargo vessel from Virginia was aborted less than three minutes before takeoff Sunday after engineers detected unusual readings from a ground support sensor. Northrop Grumman and NASA officials said the next launch attempt is scheduled for no earlier than Thursday.

Live coverage: Antares rocket launch scrubbed in Virginia

February 9, 2020 Stephen Clark

Northrop Grumman’s launch team aborted an Antares rocket launch from Virginia’s Eastern Shore minutes before liftoff Sunday evening. The rocket is set to loft a Cygnus cargo freighter toward the International Space Station with nearly four tons of supplies and experiments.

Antares launch timeline on the NG-13 mission

February 9, 2020 Stephen Clark

Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket will deliver a Cygnus supply ship into orbit Saturday to begin a pursuit of the International Space Station.

Antares rocket, Cygnus supply ship readied for space station cargo flight

February 9, 2020 Stephen Clark

A commercial Cygnus resupply ship named for Robert H. Lawrence, Jr. — the first African American selected as an astronaut — is awaiting liftoff Sunday evening from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore to begin a 35-hour trip to the International Space Station.