Tag: Baikonur Cosmodrome
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Soyuz launch halted just before engine start
The launch of a Russian Earth observation satellite aboard a Soyuz rocket has been rescheduled for Sunday after a countdown Saturday stopped less than 20 seconds before liftoff. The Russian space agency — Roscosmos — said the launch was reset for 1856 GMT (2:56 p.m. EDT) Sunday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with the…
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Proton rocket reaches launch pad with Mars probe
A Russian Proton rocket rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, riding a specially-built rail car with Europe’s ExoMars mission bound for the red planet. The ExoMars spacecraft, comprising a European-built orbiter and lander, is the only mission launching to Mars this year, scheduled for blastoff at 0931:42…
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Assembly complete for ExoMars’ Proton launcher
Ground teams pose for a picture with the fully assembled Proton rocket with the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli lander. Credit: Khrunichev Europe’s ExoMars orbiter, due to begin a seven-month journey to the red planet March 14, has met its Russian Proton rocket booster as launch preparations enter the final stages at the Baikonur…
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European Mars probe encapsulated for launch
The ExoMars spacecraft was encapsulated inside the Proton rocket’s payload fairing March 2. Credit: ESA – B. Bethge Europe’s ExoMars orbiter was enclosed inside the nose cone of its Proton rocket Wednesday ahead of its March 14 launch toward the red planet to sniff out the source of Martian methane. The fully-fueled Mars orbiter is…
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ExoMars orbiter and lander mated for final time
European technicians working at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan have bolted an Italian-built Mars lander to its mothership ahead of a March 14 launch toward the red planet. The attachment is a major step in preparations for next month’s launch the European Space Agency’s first mission to Mars since 2003, and the first of two…
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European communications relay satellite launched by Proton rocket
A commercial satellite designed to broadcast hundreds of television channels across Europe and better link European surveillance satellites and the International Space Station to scientists on the ground took off Friday from Kazakhstan aboard a Proton rocket. The Eutelsat 9B communications satellite carries conventional Ku-band transponders primed to beam television signals to homes and businesses…
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Live coverage: Proton fires into space with Eutelsat 9B
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Proton rocket with the Eutelsat 9B communications satellite. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
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Laser-equipped satellite to inaugurate European data relay system
The Eutelsat 9B satellite and the hosted payload for the European Data Relay System are pictured before shipment to the Baikonur Cosmodrome for launch preparations. Credit: Airbus Defense and Space The first node of a space-based European laser communications network will soar into orbit Friday aboard a commercial Eutelsat broadcasting spacecraft, setting the keystone for…
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Proton rocket rolled out for launch of Eutelsat satellite
Riding on its side aboard a rail car, a Proton rocket trekked to its launch pad Tuesday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with a Eutelsat television broadcast satellite ready for liftoff Friday. The Proton rocket reached Complex 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome early Tuesday, then hydraulic lifts hoisted the rocket vertical before mobile access…
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Florida spaceport tallies highest launch rate in more than a decade
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad on May 20, 2015, with the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B space plane. Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Scriptunas Images Cape Canaveral was the departure point for more space launches in 2015 than in any year since 2003, with 17…