Author: starpathwp-production
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Launch Roundup: Delta IV Heavy swan song, Falcon 9 and Soyuz launches on tap for last week of March
A trio of Falcon 9 Starlink launches, a Falcon 9 non-Starlink launch involving an Eutelsat communications satellite, a Chinese launch, and a Russian Soyuz launch with a Resurs Earth observation satellite were scheduled for this week. However, the launch that will likely get the most attention is the final launch ever of a Delta family…
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New study finds that DART changed both orbit and shape of Dimorphos asteroid
On Sept. 26, 2022, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft slammed into the side of the 170-meter-wide asteroid Dimorphos to test future asteroid deflection tactics in the event an asteroid was threatening Earth. Following impact, DART teams confirmed that the spacecraft’s collision with the asteroid had successfully deflected the asteroid by a small amount…
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It’s a few years late, but a prototype supersonic airplane has taken flight
A prototype jet independently developed by Boom Supersonic made its first flight on Friday, the company said. The XB-1 vehicle flew from Mojave Air & Space Port in California, reaching an altitude of 7,120 feet (2.2 km) and a maximum speed of 273 mph (439 kph). In a news release, Boom Supersonic said the initial…
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Russia launches crew of three, including U.S. astronaut, to space station
Photographers capture the liftoff of the Soyuz MS-25 mission bound for the International Space Station. Image: NASA/Bill Ingalls. Two days after a rare last-second launch abort, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft blasted off Saturday on a flight to the International Space Station, carrying two short-duration crew members and a NASA astronaut bound for a six-month tour…
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SpaceX reaches 19 flights with a Falcon 9 booster for a third time with Starlink mission
For a third time, a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster achieves its 19th flight, tying it as a launch leader. Liftoff on the Starlink 6-42 mission came following a weather scrub on Friday, March 22. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update 11:45 p.m. ET: SpaceX launched the Starlink 6-42 mission close to the end of…
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Rocket Report: Starship could fly again in May; Ariane 6 coming together
Welcome to Edition 6.36 of the Rocket Report! SpaceX wants to launch the next Starship test flight as soon as early May, the company’s president and chief operating officer said this week. The third Starship test flight last week went well enough that the Federal Aviation Administration—yes, the FAA, the target of many SpaceX fans’…
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NASA Science and Hardware Launch Aboard SpaceX’s 30th Resupply Mission to the ISS
Following a successful launch of NASA’s SpaceX 30th commercial resupply mission, new scientific experiments and technology demonstrations for the agency are on the way to the International Space Station, including studies of technologies to measure sea ice and plant growth in space. SpaceX’s Dragon resupply spacecraft, carrying more than 6,000 pounds of cargo to the…
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NEC and Skyloom to Revolutionize Space Communications with 100 Gbps Optical Terminals
NEC Corporation and Skyloom Global Corporation have joined forces to revolutionize space communications with the development of cutting-edge optical communication equipment for multi-orbit satellite networks. The collaboration aims to commercialize and make available on the open market one of the world’s fastest space optical terminals, achieving remarkable high-speed inter-satellite communications of 100 Gbps and more, propelling…
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Firefly Aerospace Selected by Defense Innovation Unit to Demonstrate Launch and On-Orbit Services
Firefly Aerospace, an end-to-end space transportation company, announced it signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit to conduct a trade study on its capabilities to rapidly launch Firefly’s Elytra vehicles and support missions beyond Geosynchronous Orbit, referred to as xGEO. Once complete, the trade study will provide the groundwork for…
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Rocket Lab Successfully Launches NROL-123 Mission for National Reconnaissance Office
Rocket Lab USA, one of the global leaders in launch services and space systems, successfully launched a dedicated mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from Launch Complex 2 in Wallops, Virginia. The NROL-123 mission, called ‘Live and Let Fly’, was launched on a Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle at 03:25 EDT on March 21,…