NewsAlert Sign up for our NewsAlert service and have the latest news in astronomy and space e-mailed direct to your desktop. Enter your e-mail address: Privacy note: your e-mail address will not be used for any other purpose. Spaceflight Now + Premium video content for our Spaceflight Now Plus subscribers. Delta 4 launches GOES The Boeing Delta 4 rocket launches from pad 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with the GOES-N spacecraft, beginning a new era in weather observing for the Americas.  Full coverage Discovery goes to pad As night fell over Kennedy Space Center on May 19, space shuttle Discovery reached launch pad 39B to complete the slow journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building. Discovery will be traveling much faster in a few weeks when it blasts off to the International Space Station.  Full coverage STS-61B: Building structures in orbit The November 1985 flight of space shuttle Atlantis began with a rare nighttime blastoff. The seven-member crew, including a Mexican payload specialist, spent a week in orbit deploying three communications satellites for Australia, Mexico and the U.S. And a pair of high-visibility spacewalks were performed to demonstrate techniques for building large structures in space. The crew narrates the highlights of STS-61B in this post-flight crew film presentation.  Small | Medium | Large STS-61A: German Spacelab Eight astronauts, the largest crew in history, spent a week in space during the fall of 1985 aboard shuttle Challenger for mission STS-61A, the first flight dedicated to the German Spacelab. The crew worked in the Spacelab D-1 laboratory conducting a range of experiments, including a quick-moving sled that traveled along tracks in the module. A small satellite was ejected from a canister in the payload bay as well. The astronauts narrate the highlights of the mission in this post-flight film.  Small | Medium | Large Discovery moves to VAB Perched atop a trailer-like transporter, space shuttle Discovery was moved May 12 from its hangar to the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building for mating to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters in preparation for the STS-121 mission.  Full coverage Astronaut Hall of Fame 2006 induction The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame inducted its 2006 class of shuttle commanders Henry Hartsfield, Brewster Shaw and Charles Bolden. The ceremony was held inside the Saturn 5 museum at Kennedy Space Center.  Full coverage STEREO arrival NASA's twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory satellites (STEREO) arrive via truck at the Astrotech processing facility outside Kennedy Space Center for final pre-launch testing and preparations. They will be launched this summer aboard a Boeing Delta 2 rocket to provide the first 3-D "stereo" views of the sun and solar wind.  Arriving | Unpacking STS-51F: Shuttle becomes observatory Space shuttle Challenger was transformed into an orbiting observatory to study the sun, stars and space environment during the Spacelab 2 mission in the summer of 1985. But getting into space wasn't easy. The shuttle suffered an engine shutdown on the launch pad, then during ascent two weeks later lost one of its three main engines. It marked the first Abort To Orbit in shuttle history. In this post-flight film, the crew of STS-51F narrates highlights of the mission that includes tests using a small plasma-monitoring satellite was launched from Challenger's robot arm.  Small | Medium | Large STS-51G: Space truck A seven-person crew featuring payload specialists from France and Saudi Arabia flew aboard the June 1985 mission of space shuttle Discovery. They narrate the highlights of STS-51G in this post-flight film. Three communications satellites -- for Mexico, the Arab countries and the U.S. -- were launched from the payload bay. And the SPARTAN 1 astrophysics spacecraft was deployed from the shuttle's robot arm for a two-day freeflight to make its science observations before being retrieved and returned to Earth.  Small | Medium | Large STS-51B: Monkeys, bubbles and auroras The flight of Spacelab 3 aboard Challenger in April/May 1985 was a week-long scientific research mission using a laboratory tucked in the shuttle's payload bay. Experiments focused on material and fluid behaviors in weightlessness, plus observations of monkeys in the lab. The crew also watched amazing auroral displays over Earth. This post-flight crew film shows the highlights of STS-51B and includes remarkable views out the shuttle cockpit window during launch showing the Chesapeake Bay, New York City and Cape Cod as Challenger soared up the eastern seaboard.  Small | Medium | Large STS-51D: Flyswatter spacewalk Discovery launched April 12, 1985 on the STS-51D mission. A U.S. military communications satellite, known as Leasat 3, failed to activate after its deployment from the payload bay. That set the stage for a spacewalk -- the shuttle program's first unplanned EVA -- to attach handcrafted "Flyswatter" objects on the shuttle robotic arm to hit a timing switch on the satellite. The rescue attempt did not succeed. Upon landing at Kennedy Space Center, Discovery blew a tire. The crew, including Senator Jake Garn of Utah, narrate this post-flight film of highlights from the week-long mission.  Small | Medium | Large Fuel tank update NASA managers hold this news conference April 28 to give an update on plans for the next space shuttle mission, the ongoing external fuel tank testing and debates over further modifications.  Dial-up | Broadband CALIPSO and CloudSat The Boeing Delta 2 rocket carrying the CALIPSO and CloudSat atmospheric research spacecraft lifts off at 3:02 a.m. local time April 28 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.  Full coverage Atlas 5 launches ASTRA The Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket blasts off with the European ASTRA 1KR television broadcast satellite right on time April 20 from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.  Play video Become a subscriber More video		B-26: Titan 4B launches NRO cargo Goodbye, Titan The mighty Titan -- a pillar in American rocketry for five decades -- flew into orbit for the final time October 19, 2005, capping a distinguished career of heavy-lifting that has spanned the nation's space age.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER    HISTORY: TITAN THROUGH THE DECADES Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO: FINAL TITAN ROCKET LAUNCH QT VIDEO: LAUNCH PAD CAMERA VIEW OF LIFTOFF QT VIDEO: INFRARED CAMERA CAPTURES LIFTOFF QT VIDEO: POWERFUL TRACKING CAMERA QT VIDEO: FOOTAGE OF PAST TITAN LAUNCHES FROM 1950S TO TODAY QT VIDEO: THE CAPE'S LAST TITAN 4 ROCKET BLASTS OFF QT SUBSCRIBE NOW Tribute to Titan: Gallery of the final launch This collection of photos shows the final Titan rocket being launched into space, concluding five decades of service. The booster lifted off October 19 from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base.    ENTER GALLERY    NEW ADDITIONS! B-30: Titan 4B launches NRO cargo Reality realized: Titan has left Cape Canaveral Cape Canaveral said goodbye to the Titan rocket family after five decades and 168 thunderous launches on April 29, 2005 when the program's largest booster pierced a star-filled sky and disappeared forever.    FULL STORY    SEE A FREE PREVIEW OF THE LAUNCH VIDEO Titan 4 apparently launched radar-imaging satellite A sophisticated radar-imaging spy satellite is what the Titan 4B rocket launched Friday night, according to sharp-eyed sky watchers who spotted the spacecraft literally minutes after blastoff.    MISSION STATUS CENTER    LAUNCH PREVIEW STORY    WORKERS' UNCERTAIN FUTURE Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO: FLIGHT OF THE TITAN: LAUNCH TO SRM SEPARATION QT VIDEO: THE CAPE'S LAST TITAN 4 ROCKET BLASTS OFF QT VIDEO: FOOTAGE OF PAST TITAN LAUNCHES FROM 1950S TO TODAY QT VIDEO: THIS TITAN 4 ROCKET EMERGES FROM ASSEMBLY BUILDING QT VIDEO: THE ROCKET ARRIVES AT COMPLEX 40 LAST AUGUST QT VIDEO: VIEWS OF THE TITAN 4 ON THE PAD AFTER SUNRISE QT SUBSCRIBE NOW Photo gallery: Cape's final Titan rocket lifts off This collection of photos captures Friday night's Titan 4 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral as seen from the press viewing site on the NASA Causeway and sound-activated cameras placed around Complex 40.    ENTER GALLERY B-39: Titan 4B/IUS launches DSP-22 Missile warning satellite launched by Titan 4B rocket The U.S. military's newest orbiting sentry was successfully deployed on February 14, 2004, joining a space surveillance system that maintains a constant vigil 22,300 miles above Earth to detect enemy missile launches and nuclear weapon detonations.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER Video coverage for subscribers only:    VIDEO: THE TITAN 4 ROCKET LIFTS OFF WITH DSP-22 QT    VIDEO: 15-MINUTE CLIP OF COUNTDOWN TO TITAN/IUS SEPARATION QT    VIDEO: THE DSP SATELLITE UNDERGOES LAUNCH PREPS QT    VIDEO: DSP-22 MOUNTED ATOP ROCKET AT LAUNCH PAD QT    VIDEO: ANIMATION OF DSP SATELLITE IN SPACE QT    VIDEO: TITAN 4 ROCKET BACKS OUT OF SMARF BUILDING QT    VIDEO: THE ROCKET MAKES ITS WAY TO LAUNCH PAD QT    SUBSCRIBE NOW Photo collection shows rollback of pad tower Just after a dense blanket of fog lifted, the mobile service tower was retracted from around the Titan 4B rocket at Complex 40 Saturday morning. Spaceflight Now's Justin Ray was at the pad and shot this gallery of photos.    ENTER PHOTO GALLERY Photo gallery captures Titan 4's weekend launch The Lockheed Martin Titan 4B rocket lifted off Saturday, powering through an overcast Florida sky. A collection of launch photos is available in this gallery.    ENTER PHOTO GALLERY More views of Saturday's Titan 4 liftoff in new gallery With the end of Lockheed Martin's Titan 4B rocket era looming, here is another collection of images showing last Saturday's launch from Cape Canaveral. These pictures were captured from sound-triggered cameras around the launch pad and the NASA Causeway viewing site south of Complex 40.    ENTER PHOTO GALLERY G-9: Titan 2 launches DMSP F16 Weather satellite finally escapes grasp of hard luck Leaving behind three difficult years of delays and disappointments, a seemingly jinxed U.S. military weather satellite finally enjoyed a reversal of fortune on October 18, 2003 as it successfully soared into space atop the final Titan 2 rocket.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER    TITAN 2 FINALE    A LOOK BACK AT MISSION'S SAGA B-36: Titan 4B/Centaur launches NRO cargo Titan 4 rocket launches cargo cloaked in secrecy Riding over three million pounds of thrust from its two solid-fueled booster rockets, a Titan 4B launcher tore through a cloud-filled sky September 9, 2003 to heave a massive national security cargo into space.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER Video coverage for subscribers only:    VIDEO: TITAN 4 ROCKET LAUNCHES WITH SECRET CARGO QT    SUBSCRIBE NOW Photo gallery: Titan 4's midnight streak to space This collection of images from the Lockheed Martin Titan 4 rocket launching a classified payload follows the first minutes of flight as seen from still and video cameras. It also includes some impressive time-lapse "streak shots" of the rocket's ascent from Cape Canaveral.    ENTER GALLERY B-35: Titan 4B/Centaur launches Milstar 6 Last Milstar successfully soars to orbital perch The final member of the U.S. military's most secure satellite communications constellation ascended into the sky April 8, 2003 where it will relay highly sensitive information between the president and the armed forces.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER Video coverage for subscribers only:    VIDEO: TITAN 4 ROCKET LAUNCHES WITH MILSTAR 6 QT    VIDEO: LAUNCH SCENES FROM PRESS SITE ON CAUSEWAY QT    VIDEO: RETROSPECTIVE VIDEO ON HISTORY OF TITAN QT    VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE HELD SATURDAY QT    VIDEO: FOOTAGE OF MILSTAR ASSEMBLY IN FACTORY QT    VIDEO: MILSTAR SPACECRAFT SHIPPED TO THE CAPE QT    VIDEO: SATELLITE ENCAPSULATED BY NOSE CONE QT    VIDEO: ANIMATION OF MILSTAR ASCENT TO ORBIT QT    SUBSCRIBE NOW G-4: Titan 2 launches Coriolis Coriolis launched to track ocean winds, solar storms Finally winning the battle against weather and technical glitches that delayed the mission into the new year, a Titan 2 rocket successfully lofted the U.S. military's Coriolis research satellite into orbit January 6 to mark the first space launch of 2003.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER    LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE    TITAN 2 ROCKET FACT SHEET    OVERVIEW OF CORIOLIS G-14: Titan 2 launches NOAA-M cargo Titan 2 rocket launches polar-orbiting weather eye A leftover relic of the Cold War launched a civilian satellite June 24, 2002 on a $298 million mission to continue a 40-year legacy of tracking Earth's global weather from space.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER    LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE    NOAA-M SATELLITE FACT SHEET    OVERVIEW OF TITAN 2 ROCKET Video coverage for subscribers only:    VIDEO: 5-MINUTE CLIP OF THE LAUNCH QT or RV    VIDEO: DIFFERENT ANGLE OF THE LIFTOFF QT or RV    VIDEO: VIEW FROM LAUNCH COMPLEX PARKING LOT QT or RV    VIDEO: MOBILE TOWER ROLLED BACK FOR LAUNCH QT or RV    VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH PROCESSING OF NOAA-M QT or RV    VIDEO: TITAN 2 ROCKET STACKED ON THE PAD QT or RV    VIDEO: NOAA-M IS MATED TO TITAN 2 ROCKET QT or RV    VIDEO: ANIMATION OF NOAA-M IN ORBIT QT or RV    SUBSCRIBE NOW B-38: Titan 4B/Centaur launches Milstar 5 Milstar satellite launched in first space shot of 2002 The U.S. military on January 15, 2002 launched the final link that will form a "golden ring" of communications satellites around Earth, providing ultra-secure, jam-resistant transmissions for troops and government leaders virtually anywhere on the planet.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER Video coverage for subscribers only:    PANORAMA: 360-DEGREE VIEW OF ROCKET ON THE PAD QT VR    VIDEO: TITAN 4 ROCKET BLASTS OFF WITH MILSTAR 5 QT or RV    VIDEO: MILSTAR IS ENCLOSED BY TITAN NOSE CONE QT or RV    VIDEO: SERVICE TOWER RETRACTED FOR LAUNCH QT or RV    SUBSCRIBE NOW B-34: Titan 4B launches NRO cargo Titan 4 launches U.S. national security satellite A spying eye was put into the sky October 5, 2001 by America's mightiest unmanned rocket, probably destined to replace an aging imaging satellite in the country's reconnaissance spacecraft fleet.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER Video coverage for subscribers only:    VIDEO: TITAN 4B ROCKET LIFTS OFF QT or RV B-31: Titan 4B/IUS launches DSP-21 Titan 4B rocket launches missile warning satellite A U.S. Air Force Titan 4B rocket lifted off August 6, 2001 from Cape Canaveral carrying a Defense Support Program missile-warning satellite. A solid-fueled IUS upper stage later boosted the satellite to geostationary altitude during the seven-hour launch.    MISSION STATUS CENTER B-41: Titan 4B/Centaur launches Milstar 4 Air Force Titan 4 carries out $1.2 billion mission A sophisticated military communications switchboard-in-the-sky that promises to revolutionize the amount of information available to U.S. soldiers on the battlefield was successfully placed into Earth orbit February 27, 2001 in a picture-perfect Titan 4 rocket launch.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER    VIDEO: LAUNCH OF THE TITAN 4 G-13: Titan 2 launches NOAA-L cargo U.S. weather satellite launched by Titan 2 rocket A vintage Titan 2 rocket successfully launched the NOAA-L global weather satellite on Sept. 21, 2000 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The craft will orbit around Earth's poles to collect data for long-term weather forecasting and environmental research.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER    LAUNCH PAD TOUR B-28: Titan 4B launches NRO cargo U.S. Air Force Titan 4 rocket lofts spy satellite A Titan 4B rocket successfully launched August 17, 2000 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on a $1.4 billion mission, reportedly carrying a radar-imaging spy satellite into orbit. It was the 1,800th launch from Vandenberg.    MISSION STATUS CENTER    PREVIEW STORY B-29: Titan 4B/IUS launches DSP-20 Success achieved during Titan 4 rocket launch The U.S. military launched a new spy satellite on May 8, 2000 to guard the nation's security by providing advance warning against impending enemy missile attacks. A Titan 4B rocket lofted the Defense Support Program spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER    LAUNCH VIDEO (QuickTime file) G-8: Titan 2 launches DMSP F15 Titan 2 rocket successfully launches from California A U.S. Air Force Titan 2 rocket launched a military weather satellite December 12, 1999 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Launch occurred right on time at 1738 GMT (12:38 p.m. EST). Read all about the countdown and launch with Spaceflight Now's Mission Status Center.    MISSION STATUS CENTER [Dec. 12]    LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY    LAUNCH VIDEO (335k QuickTime file)